Tournament Flames
by Evil Hamster of DOOM
Summary: YYHIY: A strange girl with a secret was walking down a street one day, when she was attacked. Her savior: an old friend. And this friend just happens to drag her along to the Dark Tournament. Can you say, danger? KuramaKagome.
1. Chapter 1

Summary: A strange girl with a secret was walking down a street one day, when she was attacked. Her savior: an old friend. A very old, very good, friend. Who is it? Little do they know, they have a connection to the Rekai Tentei...  
  
Erm, well, yeah. I don't own YuYu Hakusho or Inuyasha, so beware! Muahahahaha... I tend to borrow them a bit too much, I guess. (sweat drop) Oh well. Read, review, and flame me if you want!!! This idea just popped in my head, so if it doesn't make sense then maybe it will later...  
  
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Chapter 1  
  
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A young, slender female was walking down the city street on a cold, autumn day. Looking to be about fifteen years old, she was wearing a snug, bright purple long-sleeved shirt with a few rhinestones along the neckline, black cargo pants with silver zippers and all that stuff, and black combat- like boots. She actually kind of came off as a punk to those who didn't know her, but she wasn't like that. She was instead rather sweet, understanding, and she cared WAY too much for anyone but herself, including people she barely knew.  
  
Suddenly, the girl stopped, her black, waist-length wavy hair shifting in the slight breeze. Something was wrong. 'Wait,' she corrected herself, 'it's not wrong. I think something's coming, but it doesn't feel like a threat anyway.'  
  
The breeze became cooler all of a sudden, and she shivered. 'What's going on?' she asked herself. To keep her mind off of whatever-it-was, she started off with a brisk pace, trotting to raise her sudden drop in body heat.  
  
Her question was soon answered, however. "Kagome." A commanding voice could be heard, and it made her stop dead in her tracks.  
  
'How the heck does this guy know my name?' Kagome was beginning to panic; she didn't recognize the voice. This person was strong, she sensed, but there was absolutely no way anyone had found out about her secret. No one knew except her sensei, who was now dead, killed by bloodthirsty demons.  
  
Shoving the memory out of her mind, Kagome shuddered and turned slowly around to face the mysterious visitor. "W-who are y-you?" she stammered.  
  
She could not see the person, who was currently standing, obscured, in the shadows of the alley she was passing. Not good, she could not see in the dark! Only demons and humans with exceptionally high spirit awareness can see in the dark. This guy could see her. He was definitely a demon.  
  
The man chuckled, a deep resonating sound. "I have come, well, I'm sure you already know why I have come, little girl."  
  
"First of all, I am NOT little. Second of all, I am quite sure I have absolutely NO IDEA why you are here, or why you know my freaking NAME!" Kagome finished the last part with a yell, the whole time waggling her index finger at the intruder. "Jerk," she muttered under her breath.  
  
When somebody threatened her, they immediately went to her bad side, unless they were friends for a while first, and even then only if it was a joke. Kagome's bad side is a dangerous place, and nobody, not even the toughest demon in all three worlds, PLUS the past, present, and future, wanted to be there. Most of them didn't know about it, but as soon as they find out, they are dead, VERY DEAD.  
  
Shaking his head, the shadow again spoke. "Just as naïve as I thought you be. Can you not tell I know what I am doing? Tsk, tsk."  
  
There was a bright flash, and when vision finally returned, well as much as it can at night, Kagome was lying on the ground, paralyzed and unable to do anything to defend herself. 'Crap! Now I am in SO much trouble...'  
  
"Do not harm the ningen girl, baka," a new, cold voice broke into the little scene. Said ningen could not move at all, so now she was even more worried. There were two people she could not see now!  
  
Kagome heard the sound of a sword swishing through the air. It wasn't metal, though; it was made of something else. Ice, perhaps? Then, she heard the gruesome sound of disintegrating flesh and winced.  
  
Wait, she could wince? How could she wince if she was paralyzed? Slowly, she tested her arms, only to find that they could move. She pushed herself up, leaning back on her palms as she shook her head, dazed.  
  
'What--?' She was cut off before she could even finish the thought by clear, ice blue eyes staring at her in concern from underneath a black hooded cloak.  
  
"Are you all right?" the owner of the eyes asked, extending a hand to help her onto her feet.  
  
Kagome gazed up at him for a minute before accepting the hand and saying, "Yeah, I'm fine now. Thanks, err..." She didn't finish her sentence, but instead looked questioningly into his eyes.  
  
The stranger laughed. "Well, I can see you don't remember me."  
  
"Should I?" Kagome was thoroughly confused now.  
  
He smirked in reply. "The name, is Touya." Kagome gasped, then threw herself into his arms with a giant hug, the cloak falling off in the process.  
  
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Star: Interesting enough, so far... I have an idea where this is going, but I'm not entirely sure yet.  
  
Kagome: (gasp) Ya mean that you really don't know? Well that's no fair. And who the heck is Touya? I've never heard of him.  
  
Star: (grins evilly) You'll have to wait until the next chapter to find out. Readers, please review! Second ficcie, hope this one's as good as my other one seems to be. And I still accept flames even though I haven't gotten any at all... 


	2. Chapter 2

Star: Okay, well for those of you who might be reading but haven't sent a review and for the person that sent me a review for my first chappie (cheers for... Hehe I've forgotten your name right now), I am letting you know that this will have absolutely nothing to do with the Inuyasha series. I did not make up Kagome's personality and stuff, though. I am keeping that strictly to the series. She also has never been to Segoku Jidai, but she knows of demons because, duh, she knows Touya.  
  
Kagome: Hmph! Thank goodness Inuyasha isn't here! He gets REALLY, REALLY, REALLY annoying.  
  
Star: (sweat drop) Uh huh. I am soooo sorry if that was a cliffie, but I'm kinda getting into them. They tend to get me a few reviews, anyways.  
  
Kagome: (glaring daggers)  
  
Star: (sweat drop) Erm, well, Kagome's been threatening to kill me if I don't tell her who the heck Touya is, so I'll get on with the story! But I don't see how me being dead will tell her who Touya is... (grumbles)  
  
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Chapter 2  
  
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Last Time: The stranger laughed. "Well, I can see you don't remember me."  
  
"Should I?" Kagome was thoroughly confused now.  
  
He smirked in reply. "The name, is Touya." Kagome gasped, then threw herself into his arms with a giant hug, the cloak falling off in the process.  
  
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"Touya? Is it really you?" the young woman cried to the young man she was desperately holding on to.  
  
He laughed. "Yeah, it really is me, you silly goose." Kagome made a strangled noise, much like the sound of puking, at her stupid nickname.  
  
"It really is you! And I am most definitely not a goose. I haven't been called that since, oh, I'd say about a good ten years, maybe. Since I was five or six," she retorted, then her voice lowered to a lower caliber. "And besides, I have never thought of you as one who would bring up the past."  
  
"That is true. I don't, but I haven't seen you in so many years! How was I to know that that was a thing of the past, hmm?" Touya teased his old friend, who backed away and glared at him ferociously.  
  
"You know I never liked it even when we were kids!" she said, exasperated.  
  
He just stood there, smirking, before deciding to change the subject. "Anyway, enough about me. Why was that demon after you?" There was genuine worry in his voice.  
  
"Like I told the dumb thing, I have absolutely no idea why," Kagome stated as if it was obvious, which it was. But then, Touya never could tell when his best friend was lying, even back when they were inseparable, as kids.  
  
Touya rolled his eyes. "Right. Well, you know you have always been able to lie right in my face without me knowing, so how was I supposed to know you weren't lying to that demon." She shrugged.  
  
"Fine, whatever," he continued. "But I want to take you home with me, where I'll know where you are. I don't want you getting attacked again by some worthless demon who just happens to know a paralyzing spell."  
  
Kagome smiled at this. "Actually, I wouldn't mind that. But I've got to tell my guardian where I'll be. She knows you, well, she remembers you anyway, so she'll understand."  
  
After a quick nod, he told her to lead them to her home.  
  
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After a few minutes of walking, the two friends arrived at Kagome's home. It was a large apartment building on the corner of the block. There were double-doors, which opened up into the over-crowded lobby. Kagome led Touya through the crowd and over to a set of stairs.  
  
"We live on the third floor," she explained. After climbing three flights of steps, they came into a short hall with four doors, two on each side. She moved over to one at the end of the hall on the left, pushed open the door, and yelled, "Hey! I'm home! Where are you, Mom?"  
  
"I'm over here, dear, in the kitchen," was the reply. Satisfied, Kagome dragged Touya into the main room, dropped his arm, and walked into the kitchen to find her 'mother' making a sub sandwich.  
  
"Mom, Touya's back!" she said, excited. "I was wondering if I could go over to his house to get reacquainted?" she continued, question apparent in her voice.  
  
"Of course, dear. You may go ahead, but when will you be back?"  
  
"Tomorrow sometime, I think. Don't worry about anything. We'll probably just talk, watch movies, something like that. I want to make the most of his time here; I don't know when he'll be going back to wherever it is he lives now," Kagome happily supplied.  
  
Her guardian smiled. "Well, go on then. I expect to hear something from you if you are not back by suppertime tomorrow, and if not I will call the police." She was serious. Kagome was her adoptive daughter, and she didn't want anything to happen to her. Touya being with Kagome reassured her, but she still worried like only a mother can.  
  
"Good-bye then! See you tomorrow!" Kagome said cheerfully before walking back into the main room, grabbing Touya's arm again, and walking straight out the door. She stopped in the hallway after closing the door behind her, and questioned him.  
  
"Touya, where is your home now?" she asked, wondering whether he had moved back to the Makai those many years ago.  
  
"Well, it IS in the Makai, but it's right near a portal, so you'll still be back in time," he said, a little bit uncomfortable. "Don't worry, I won't let the demons get you. I've got a couple of strong friends who will help me with that."  
  
Kagome fully trusted Touya. She had known he was demon since she could remember, but it didn't bother her. She didn't even remember how she found out, but that didn't bug her either. She nodded, then said, "Hey, where is the portal, anyway?"  
  
Touya grinned. "It's a block away from here. I didn't realize your home was this close to the portal."  
  
"Alright." With that, she pushed him in the direction of the stairs with surprising strength for a human, considering he WAS a demon after all.  
  
Taking the hint, he led her down the stairs, back through the crowded lobby, out the main doors, and up the sidewalk towards his destination. He was going slower than his normal speed. It was still fast, but Kagome was keeping up easily, so he sped up the pace a little. She was still keeping up, but he didn't want to wear her out before they even got to Makai in case anything should happen. That could be disastrous.  
  
He reached a small alley much like the one he found her in, but it was in the opposite direction from where he had first found her. "We're here!" he sang out, almost joyously.  
  
Kagome looked around curiously. "I don't see the portal anywhere," she concluded.  
  
"Well, that might be because of the concealment spell I put on it you silly goose."  
  
"I am NOT A GOOSE!!! And besides, I still usually see through the concealment spells."  
  
"Aha! But I have grown stronger."  
  
"So have I!" Kagome contradicted. "Honestly, did you think I wouldn't train some after realizing there are demons in the world! Geesh..."  
  
He just grinned. "Of course I didn't think you wouldn't train! You started training some with me before I even left."  
  
Considering the matter settled, he waved a hand and a very ice-like portal appeared a few feet off the ground. Kagome examined it carefully. "How did you mask the energy it gives off?" she asked in awe. Normally, nothing would be able to mask this much energy, especially from her.  
  
"Like I said, I've gotten stronger." As he jumped into the portal, he called back, laughing, "Come on! Oh, and did you ever hear of the Shinobi?" Quickly, Kagome jumped into the portal, watching as it closed behind her, then turned in the direction Touya went to ponder his question.  
  
"Who are the Shinobi?" she asked quietly, to no one in particular, before she emerged from the portal into the Makai.  
  
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Star: So, she finally discovers the Shinobi!  
  
Kagome: Hey! All I know is that Touya is my long lost friend. That DOES NOT TELL ME WHO HE IS!!!  
  
Star: He's a demon, duh!  
  
Kagome: (sweat drop) Yeah, I know that!  
  
Star: Yes, Kagome is an orphan, but she hasn't had a bad life. AT ALL!!!! So, yeah, it's just her and her adoptive mom who doesn't really matter. The good-girl in Kagome just needed to get permission to leave first! I'm sorry Touya is like WAY, way, WAY OOC! I am sorry, but this is my version of what he might be like with his good friends when he's not in battle mode, okay? Okay. Glad we're clear on that. REVIEW PLEASE! THEY MAKE ME FEEL ALL WARM INSIDE!!!  
  
SPECIAL MESSAGE: I also need an opinion on who to pair Kagome with. She will eventually meet up with Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama, and Hiei, as well as all the other members of the Shinobi. (You know, Risho, Jin, Bakken, and Gama.) Tell me your opinions, please! Yusuke will stay with Keiko and Touya will not be paired with Kagome. Kuwabara will be paired with the only person in all three worlds that can love him (Yukina). Well, for obvious reasons it is narrowed down to Jin, Kurama, and Hiei. Thankies!!! And as I have said before, review (or Scythe may come after you. She's got anger management problems.)  
  
Scythe: Hey! I heard that you stupid baka!!! You may be human, but I'm demon, so I'd watch myself if I were you. Bwahahaha...  
  
Star: (huffs) I'm no human... 


	3. Chapter 3

Star: Hey! I'm updating a day early. I dunno why, but it might have something to do with the fact I feel like updating...  
  
Touya: You are a very strange girl.  
  
Star: Thanks for the observation.  
  
Touya: No problem. Wait, did you ever do the disclaimer?  
  
Star: In the first chapter.  
  
Touya: You're supposed to do one every chapter, baka.  
  
Star: Oh well, fine, here goes: I don't own YuYu Hakusho or Inuyasha, but I can dream, can't I? No more disclaimers! Look to this chapter or the first one if you want to read one.  
  
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Chapter 3  
  
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LAST TIME: "Come on! Oh, and did you ever hear of the Shinobi?" Quickly, Kagome jumped into the portal, watching as it closed behind her, then turned in the direction Touya went to ponder his question.  
  
"Who are the Shinobi?" she asked quietly, to no one in particular, before she emerged from the portal into the Makai.  
  
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An overly hyper Jin was bouncing around in the Shinobi camp in the woods, laughing at some joke or another that he had just made, when he felt the sudden presence of his good friend, Touya.  
  
In his Scottish-like accent, he said, "Oy! Touya's back!" This gained the attention of... no one. "Oh, come on! Don't you care at all for our partner?" The happy mood was quite annoying to the others, who just glared. "Fine then," he huffed, then went off to find his friend and teammate.  
  
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When Kagome emerged from the icy portal, Touya laughed out loud at the look of perplexity on her face.  
  
"What's wrong? Don't you remember the Makai. Or is it that you don't know who the Shinobi are?" he taunted, enjoying her apparent confusion.  
  
"Aw, shut up, would you! You know I haven't been here much. You are just being mean because you know better than me," she retorted, miffed, hitting him on the arm playfully.  
  
Touya laughed again. "Alright, alright... Okay, the Shinobi are a group of shadow warriors, so to speak, and we have all been trained in the art of one specific type of magic."  
  
Kagome squinted her eyes suspiciously. "What do you mean, WE?" she said slyly.  
  
"Ehh, oops. I didn't mean for you to find out so easily." He shrugged. "I have been recruited as a member of the Shinobi, specializing in ice, of course."  
  
"Well, ice IS your thing." She stuck her tongue out at him. "So that's where you got your training from. I was wondering why your power increased so dramatically. Usually, it takes closer to fifteen years, I'd guess, for power to increase so much, instead of just ten."  
  
Suddenly, Touya turned serious. "Okay, so you know where I got my training. Where did you get yours?" he asked. The guy could have sworn he saw a shadow cross her face as she recalled her training, but as soon as he thought he saw it, it was gone.  
  
"I got my training from a miko," she said quietly.  
  
"A M-MIKO!!!" he shouted. Mikos scared him, as they did any halfway sane demon, and he couldn't believe that one trained his best friend. She might accidentally purify him or something.  
  
Now it was Kagome's turn to laugh. "No, you baka! I wouldn't have agreed to come with you at all if I didn't have complete control of my powers," she consoled, reading Touya's face exactly.  
  
"Alright," he said, composing himself. "Well then. What did you learn in the way of martial arts?" He was totally guessing that she had been smart enough to learn some martial arts to go with her spiritual powers. He knew for a fact that anyone could drain themselves if they used all energy attacks, not even bothering to combine the powers with the physical attacks for a combo. Pure energy should be used sparingly, otherwise too much energy would be used. Plus, that kind of attack took too much energy to form in the heat of battle, let alone the power that actually went into the attack strength.  
  
Kagome smiled. "Did you think I would be that stupid, Touya? I know very well I could kill myself if I don't use physical attacks. And I am not a goose!" she added, noticing that he was about to say something. He grinned sheepishly.  
  
"Hmph. I learned how to parry, though I haven't practiced that much lately, the basics in blocking, kicking, punching, et cetera, and I have been working on my speed, as I'm sure you noticed back in Ningenkai," she summed up.  
  
Touya nodded his approval. "You will need to work on some higher level blocking and offensive attacks." This irked her. He was not her teacher! So they had a few spars back when she was just learning, from him. But now she had an official sensei!  
  
Just then, Kagome noticed a presence in the woods, watching them, so it seemed. She tensed, and Touya took note and smiled. "It didn't take you long to notice he was here. Let's see, about, thirty seconds? Definitely an improvement, especially since you were preoccupied."  
  
"There you go again! Talking as if I'm your student," Kagome huffed. "But who's out there?" she asked, looking at the exact spot where the intruder was. "You don't seem too worried, especially since 'he' is a demon, and a strong one at that."  
  
The corner of Touya's eye crinkled. "Of course I'm not worried. It's only Jin! By the way, you can come out now," he said vaguely.  
  
"And who is Jin?" Kagome asked, placing her hands on her hips, but was caught off guard when a very bright-haired red head walked into the small clearing they were in. He had strange little ears on his head that twitched. "That's him, I take it?"  
  
Touya grinned at her. "Yep, that's him, alright."  
  
"Hey, hey, hey! Are you guys just going to ignore me? I come all this way to see my bud, and he ignores me. That's just makes me feel great," Jin joked.  
  
"Well, if you couldn't tell, I was having a conversation with Kagome here," Touya said.  
  
"More like an argument," muttered the redheaded demon, not in the least bit scornful.  
  
"Erm, are you part of the Shinobi, too?" asked Kagome who had been staring at him quizzically. This guy has a lot of power.  
  
Jin turned to regard the human girl that was with Touya. "Oh, hi! Sorry, didn't mean to ignore you there. Just haven't seen Touya in a while," he said cheerfully. Then he realized he hadn't answered her question. "Yes, I'm part of the Shinobi. What else do you know about Touya?"  
  
Kagome let Jin's question slide, smiling and saying instead, "I figured as much. You're very strong. I like the wind too."  
  
Jin was taken aback for a second before looking down at the girl in wonder. She was only about 4 inches shorter than him, but that was plenty of room to have to look down. "How did you know...?"  
  
She smiled even more. "I can sense things like that." What was it with people being so vague all of a sudden?  
  
Touya snorted. "That's an understatement. Kagome here is a miko," he clarified.  
  
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Kagome: No worries! I don't like worrying people.  
  
Touya: whispers She's on a dare to act like a ditz for a while. Maybe she'll stop by next chapter.  
  
Kagome: La de da... I heard that you big oaf! still happy  
  
Touya: sweat drop See what I mean?  
  
Star: sucks in a big breath REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW gasps to get breath back Please and thank you! 


	4. Chapter 4

Star: Yeah, well, just yeah, I guess. Nothing really to say, except thank you very much to the few readers I have on this one. Thankies!!!  
  
Jin: Whatever. Just get reading peeps! I'm gonna overreact in this chapter!  
  
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Chapter 4  
  
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LAST TIME:  
Touya snorted. "That's an understatement. Kagome here is a miko," he clarified.  
  
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Kagome looked down sheepishly as Jin backed away a couple of steps. "S-she's a MIKO??? Touya, are you crazy! She'll purify you!" Jin was getting just a LITTLE bit panicked.  
  
"Give me a break! I've already told Touya that I wouldn't have agreed to come with him if I didn't have complete control of my powers." It was very irksome to be feared by people. Kagome wasn't used to it, and she didn't like the feeling. Unfortunately for her, Jin didn't fully trust her quite yet, so she would have to deal with it for a while. Go figure.  
  
"That is just my luck! The first demon I meet in Makai since I was five and he's afraid of me!" Kagome was more than mad at this happening. It was SO not fair! She wanted to make another friend, especially since he was one of Touya's friends already.  
  
"What do you mean, 'since I was five'?" asked a very suspicious Jin.  
  
Touya sighed. "She means, the last time she was here was when she was five years old. What did you think she meant, that she had been in Makai since she was five and had been cooped up the whole time, taken prisoner or something?"  
  
Jin felt like blushing, but his carefree spirit wouldn't let him. He was never embarrassed, worried, or sad. He wasn't even scared of anyone except mikos. He was always happy, happy, and happy. Well, not all the time, but you know what I mean!  
  
"Actually, I'm not sure what I thought. Hey, but what do you mean, you like the wind too?"  
  
"What is this, Twenty Questions? What I meant was that I enjoy playing with the wind too. It's very relaxing." Kagome was getting exasperated. Filling people in on her life isn't as entertaining when you haven't met them before and when they don't have something to tell you back.  
  
Touya balked. "You never said that you had magic with the wind!" he accused.  
  
"Hello! That's because I don't have magic with the wind!"  
  
"Then why did you say 'playing with the wind'?"  
  
"Because what I enjoy is playing IN the wind. And letting it whip around me. Every form of wind I have encountered seems to enjoy messing with my hair."  
  
"That's because there's something in you that the wind seems to connect with, and also wind likes your purity." The voice of the suddenly cheerful redhead was enough to make her jump.  
  
"I didn't know you can talk to the wind using wind magic." Innocence WAS one of Kagome's more obvious traits, and she had just glided right back into being innocent.  
  
Jin laughed. "That would be because most can't do it. Only the Shinobi wind master."  
  
"Really? Weird... So, how many people are in the Shinobi?"  
  
"Five? Somewhere around there..."  
  
"You don't even know?" scolded Kagome.  
  
Jin looked confused for a minute then said, proudly. "Nope! Should I?"  
  
"Yes, you should! You ARE the leader of the group, am I right?"  
  
"Actually, you're wrong!!" he said,  
  
"What? That can't be right! You are the WIND master, hello. WIND is the dominant attribute in my experience. Think about it. Fire? No way, the wind just blows in on its way. Water? No, the wind can change the direction of it WAY too easily. Electricity? Umm, I'm not so sure about that. But electricity doesn't hurt the wind. Earth? Hmm, well, I can't think of how the earth attribute could possibly stand up to the wind. The wind is very powerful and can turn the tide of a fight! You knew that, of course, though."  
  
Jin's eyes were swirling at the lecture this human girl he had just met gave him; Touya looked on in amusement, his arms crossed. He couldn't keep the laughter in any longer. "That's the Kagome I knew! Always lecturing for the heck of it, not long ones, but still lectures! I always knew you'd make it big in debate," Touya said after his initial fit of laughter had subsided. He burst out laughing again.  
  
Kagome turned back to Touya, a small smile playing on her lips. "Aw, come on! I'm not THAT bad!" she said, trying not to laugh and failing miserably. Once she noticed that Jin was still swirly-eyed, she used that as an excuse to look away.  
  
"Jin!" she said, waving her hand around in front of his face, snapping her fingers. "Snap out of it, already! It was just a mini lecture. It really wasn't that bad." He was still standing there with swirls in his eyes. She sighed. "Is there anything we can do to help your friend, Touya?"  
  
Touya was still laughing in a very un-Touya-like fashion. MOST people hadn't seen him like that, anyway; MOST people only see his battle face. Those who really get to know him see him laugh like that quite a bit when he finds something that he thinks is funny.  
  
Kagome stared at him. "I will take that as a no," she said after a while, before finally succumbing to the laughter welling up inside her.  
  
Before she knew it, she was on the ground next to Touya, giggling her heart out at Jin's expression.  
  
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Back at the camp, a member of the Shinobi noticed that Jin was gone far longer than he should have been. Being the smart one that he is, (wink, wink LOL) Gama went out to search for him, Bakken following.  
  
The two ninjas were almost to the clearing that Kagome, Jin, and Touya were in when they heard laughing, and a girl's voice saying, "Jin! Snap out of it!" Then she said something else they weren't able to comprehend, then she started giggling helplessly just like whoever it was that was still laughing.  
  
All that actually clicked in their brain was that Jin was in there, and two people were laughing. They didn't recognize the laughter of the male in the clearing, though they knew him well. (Geez! What a pair of idiots...) They moved closer to the clearing...  
  
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Touya and Kagome were still having terrible laughing fits, when Kagome sensed something. It wasn't the strongest thing she had sensed in her life, but it was definitely formidable. She quickly stopped laughing and nudged Touya in the ribs with her elbow. As soon as he stopped laughing, he too noticed what Kagome had been sensing. 'Damn! They found us already. I'd hoped they would remain at camp until we returned.'  
  
Kagome was looking over at Touya curiously, trying to read his expression. Unfortunately, he was good at keeping his face passive. "What is it?" she asked, not liking the presence any more than he was.  
  
He looked over at her, his mask firmly in place. She sighed. "Acquaintances, I assume?"  
  
"Yes," he replied calmly. "But they do not know you, so you may not want to draw attention to yourself. They have a tendency to go overboard. Particularly when they think something may have happened to a fellow Shinobi."  
  
Kagome rolled her eyes. "Well, thanks for sharing and all, but wouldn't it have been much better if you told me that BEFORE I gave Jin a mini lecture?"  
  
"I suppose that might have helped."  
  
Touya had a way of being able to tick people off when he had his mask on. He was ticking Kagome off right then, so she stalked over to Jin and attempted yet again to make him come out of lala-land, but to no avail. She was considering smacking him out of his trance when she heard a voice behind her.  
  
"Hello," it said coolly. "What are you doing to Jin, may I ask?"  
  
Kagome turned around to see a VERY big man wearing no shirt, and he had massive scars all over his body. Apparently this guy liked to fight, but he wasn't the one who was talking.  
  
The one with the annoying voice was quite small, and was also wearing no shirt. He was creepy-looking, with bluish-white skin and some kind of forest green pants/shorts thing. Instead of a hairstyle, he wore a neon green bandana. All in all, he looked pretty repulsive.  
  
"What?" she asked stupidly. "Oh! I'm trying to get him out of this trance or whatever it is that he's in." Kagome then turned back to what she was doing, her brow furrowed, trying to think of a way to bring him back to reality.  
  
"What do you mean, trance?" asked the large, scarred man.  
  
Kagome turned back around to face him, her brow still furrowed. It relaxed while she spoke. "Well, I kind of...umm..." She shot a pleading look at Touya, who spoke up in her defense.  
  
"She was telling him something she knew about magic and after she told him, he was like this," he provided in a monotone voice. While he was speaking, she had turned around yet again, creasing her brow in thought.  
  
"Magic?" said the short one, seeming a bit interested. "What did you do, ningen?"  
  
Instead of turning around to face him as she answered, she talked to him over her shoulder. "I didn't do anything, honest! I'm just trying to figure out what to do to get him back..."  
  
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Star: Well, well, well! How'd ya like, eh? Umm, I was wondering if you people could tell me how my pacing is so far. I personally think my pacing sucks, but it's you guys' opinions that count!  
  
Jin: laughs In other words, review and say something other than 'its great!' or something like that. If you can't think of anything, 'it's great' or something is fine, too, though!  
  
Star: AND I need some help with the pairings. I know Kagome hasn't met everyone yet, but that won't happen for another few chapters, so vote, vote, vote! I accept all votes, even if you vote more than once! Please keep it to one vote per chapter, though.  
  
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Polls: Hiei  
Kurama  
  
Sorry! No Touya because he and Kagome are best friends since like forever! And... Yeah. Please vote peoples! 


	5. Chapter 5

Star: Hey folks! Sorry for any confusion, but this IS a YYH/IY crossover, only its just Kagome from IY... Right now anyways. Bwahahahahaha! Okies, I will find a place to fit in some more of the IY characters later, but this is going to be AU for IY. They never knew Kagome before, but their personalities will be the same. Just like Kagome!!! Ahem, on with the chappie!  
  
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Hiei: 1 Kurama: 1  
  
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Chapter 5  
  
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LAST TIME: Instead of turning around to face him as she answered, she talked to him over her shoulder. "I didn't do anything, honest! I'm just trying to figure out what to do to get him back..."  
  
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Kagome finally thought of something. She didn't really think it would work, but she tried anyway. Her brow became smooth, and she just stood there, arms hanging limply down by her sides. She squeezed her eyes shut, and began to concentrate even harder than before, calling on powers of healing. She thought she could feel some of her power crossing the short distance between her body and Jin's, but it was so faint she could have imagined it. When she felt the power stop, she opened her eyes and looked up to see the blinking, confused blue-gray eyes of Jin.  
  
With a relieved sigh, Kagome looked up at Jin with concern. "Are you okay?" she asked.  
  
Jin rubbed the back of his head with his hand and grinned. "I'm fine! Ehh, what just happened?"  
  
Kagome blushed lightly, and dug her toe into the ground. She whispered, "I tried my healing powers. I didn't know if it would work, though... You were just in a trance..."  
  
Touya smiled. When the two intruders noticed his smile, they balked. He only smiles when he's going to kill someone! (Psh! Obviously they are not close friends of his.)  
  
'Wait, that's a cocky smirk! That's not a smile!' They mentally wiped their brows. 'This girl does not deserve to die quite yet; she has just healed a demon she hardly knew, and it was one of the Shinobi, which she probably doesn't even know about.' After thinking this, it finally hit them that she had healing powers. Healing powers... Does that mean she's an apparition? No, she was definitely human.  
  
Kagome noticed the two demons that she did not know were staring at her. It made her very uncomfortable, so she walked to a spot next to Touya, then hissed in his ear, "They are starting to freak me out!"  
  
The mask that was back on his face threatened to crumble from his friend's words. THEY freaked her out? Just wait until she meets Risho... Man, he was downright creepy sometimes, even to an ice master such as himself.  
  
Noticing the suppressed laughter in Touya's eyes, Kagome hissed at him again, "No, you baka! They don't scare me, they are staring at me. I don't like being looked at like that."  
  
Touya shook his head, his spiked green bangs flitting about randomly. "Kagome," he said loud enough for everyone to hear, "This is Gama." He pointed to the short one. "And this is Bakken." He pointed to the tall one. "You already know Jin. All three of you, this is Kagome," he said simply, his mask back firmly in place.  
  
Kagome smiled a very convincing polite smile at Gama and Bakken, and a real one at Jin, nodding to each of them.  
  
Gama quirked his eyebrow at the girl. Something wasn't right about her, and he had no idea how right he was about that. "So, I assume you will head back to camp momentarily?" His gaze landed back on Kagome, and to his satisfaction she shifted uncomfortably. "Will that be two or three members returning?" he added.  
  
Touya responded promptly, "Three. Kagome will be staying with us for a while, at least until tomorrow." He left no room for discussion. He was a formidable foe for anyone, even his fellow Shinobi. They could have taken him on, but it would still be very difficult to beat him, in an argument as well as in a fight.  
  
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Gama and Bakken had gone ahead back to the camp to alert their leader of the guest, and that Jin and Touya were coming back too. Jin stayed to walk behind with his newfound friend and his older one. He wanted to hear an explanation, and he wanted to hear one soon.  
  
He got that explanation as soon as the other demons were out of earshot. Kagome turned to Touya angrily. "Explain," she demanded.  
  
"That's exactly what I want. An explanation." Jin tugged nervously on his pointed ear, looking expectantly at Touya, awaiting his reply.  
  
He groaned. "Alright, I give. Jin's is easier to handle, so you can have yours later, Kagome." Touya turned to face Jin somewhat. "Kagome and I have been friends since way back when we were both little kids. We met when we were four, but a year and a half later, I had to leave. I used to train her a little, since I was a demon and she was not. We had fun," he shared simply.  
  
Jin tapped his foot impatiently. "That is not the whole story. Please tell me the rest."  
  
Kagome spoke up, twiddling her fingers in her slightly waved hair. "I can tell part of the story. Over that short period of almost two years, Touya and I became inseparable. We were best friends, and we knew all of each other's thoughts. Okay, well I knew his and he still couldn't tell when I was lying or not. But he was suspicious on all the right times, he just had to ask."  
  
She was interrupted my Touya's glare.  
  
"That's besides the point," she continued quickly. "Alright, like he said, he trained me some. Nothing too serious, heck, we were only like five! But I did learn some stuff. Erm, then he had to leave, but he couldn't tell me why. We just met again earlier today, when I was attacked by a demon. And, then he said he would take me to his home, and here we are."  
  
Hearing that Kagome had been attacked by a demon, Jin turned sharply to face her. "Why were you attacked by a demon?" He demanded more than asked the question.  
  
Kagome's face paled. She was obviously terrified by her near-death experience. "I-I d-don't know. H-he just c-came out of n-nowhere, s-saying that I s-should know." Her stammering made it a little bit harder to understand, but it was still quite clear.  
  
Touya was scowling at the ground, wondering why the heck a demon would attack his sweet, innocent friend. Surely they wouldn't attack her for being a miko; most demons knew better than that, as they could be purified with the slightest touch by one sometimes. However, no one noticed his scowl.  
  
Jin looked troubled as well. "You mean to say, a demon attacked you, and you don't have any idea why?" he clarified.  
  
Kagome nodded her head, causing Jin to rub his forehead. "Why would a demon attack a miko? A human miko at that, not a demon one."  
  
Touya interrupted their thoughts. "We'd best get going or Risho will wonder where we are."  
  
Jin nodded agreement, then gave a short laugh. "Risho can get dangerous when he is mad. I'll have to agree that we had better go."  
  
With that, the three hurried out of the clearing, heading towards the Shinobi camp.  
  
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Star: How was that? Huh, huh? Was it good??? Please review! I'll update again on Tuesday! Or Wednesday, in case I forget. Hehehe...Talk to me on AIM or Yahoo please! My name on both is starangel4899. I'm open to suggestions! 


	6. Chapter 6

Star: Wow! I can't believe I got so many reviews all of a sudden! Thankies so much DY!!!  
  
Kagome: Are you saying that it isn't because your story's good?  
  
Star: Of course not! Everybody who has reviewed has said they like it, but DY got more peoples to read!  
  
Kagome: (sweat drop) Whatever...  
  
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Kurama: 9 Hiei: 1  
  
Hmm...I think I know who's winning! LOL  
  
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Chapter 6  
  
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LAST TIME:  
Jin nodded agreement, then gave a short laugh. "Risho can get dangerous when he is mad. I agree that we had better go."  
  
With that, the three hurried out of the clearing, heading towards the Shinobi camp.  
  
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Looking up, Risho watched as Jin and Touya came into the clearing with a human girl. She was quite pretty by most standards, human and demon alike, with long wavy hair, blue-gray eyes, and a slim figure. She seemed uneasy, and she also knew that he was there. But how could she know that before he showed himself? 'Oh well, I can get that answer later.'  
  
"Welcome back," Risho stated in a cool tone, referring to Jin and Touya. "Who is our guest?" he continued, looking her over as he stepped into the clearing. He had been just outside it, in the edge of the woods.  
  
As he stepped forward, Kagome could finally see who it was that she had been sensing. He had pale skin, black longish hair, and wore an almost skin-tight outfit. It consisted of dark gray long sleeved shirt and pants, with a white gauze-like something wrapped around the lower part of each of his legs. His knees had some kind of armor looking red plate over them. His shoulders had the same kind of plates on them, and draped between them was an orange piece of cloth. Around his waist was another piece of cloth, this time yellow. He didn't scare her though, he just made her uncomfortable.  
  
Touya glanced over at Kagome before answering Risho's question. "This is Kagome. Kagome, this is Risho."  
  
Kagome gave another very convincing polite smile to Risho. She was getting WAY too much practice at those smiles today. She'd never had to do that to three people almost in a row before.  
  
Risho nodded, acknowledging her presence, before turning to Touya and raising an eyebrow at him in question. He responded by saying, bluntly, "She is a human, and an old friend of mine. Something has recently happened and she will be staying with us for a while, at least until tomorrow."  
  
The Shinobi leader warily gave consent with a nod of his head. Now he would HAVE to find out about this girl later. "We have already eaten, but are you hungry?" he asked her, trying his best to be nice. He didn't like humans at all. They annoyed him with their weakness.  
  
Kagome shook her head, causing her hair to swing a little to the side. "No. I'm not hungry," she said, completely unfazed.  
  
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Later, the sleeping arrangements were made. Kagome would sleep under a tree at the edge of the clearing, Touya would be next to Kagome, and Jin wouldn't be too far off. He didn't want his new friend to get hurt. Risho, as usual, would sleep in the middle of camp, Gama close to him, and Bakken would sleep across the clearing from the human. He also did not like humans or human sympathizers, but Touya was okay. Touya didn't go around hanging out with humans all the time, and he was so cold it didn't really matter. His emotions were never a problem.  
  
Kagome was having a little bit of trouble falling asleep. She still didn't know exactly who the Shinobi were, and she wanted to know how Touya got wrapped up with such creepy people. Not Jin, he's nice. Kagome was more wondering about Gama, Bakken, and Risho. They didn't seem to like her at all, much like she felt about them.  
  
Touya was also having trouble sleeping, but for a completely different reason. First of all, he couldn't relax with Kagome not being able to fall asleep. Second, he was worried about why the dumb demon had attacked her. He decided he could solve one of his disturbances. He sighed. "Kagome," he whispered softly, "Are you going to fall asleep or will I have to make you."  
  
"I don't know. How would you make me?" she whispered back, turning to face the direction of his voice and where she knew he would be resting.  
  
"I would have to use some of my ice powers. Putting people to sleep that way can be dangerous, though."  
  
"Why do you care if I fall asleep, anyway?"  
  
"Because your irregular breathing is bugging me."  
  
"Well I'm so SORRY that my breathing isn't that of sleep yet."  
  
"Concentrate on your breaths, or neither of us will get to sleep." That ended the conversation as Kagome struggled to do as she was told. Finally, her mind succumbed to slumber, falling peacefully into a dreamless sleep.  
  
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When the sun's first rays struck her skin, Kagome yawned and sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She forgot where she was for a minute and why she was sleeping on the ground, under a tree. 'Oh yeah! I'm in Makai. That's right.' She leaned against the tree, bathing in the warm sunlight. She watched as Touya slowly got up, looked around, the spotted her leaning against the tree. He moved over to sit by her. 'Now is your chance. Go for it,' she told herself.  
  
"Touya?" she whispered carefully. "How did you become part of the Shinobi?"  
  
Touya stared at the ground for a minute before answering in a quiet voice. "When I had to leave you, all those years ago, it was because of the Shinobi. You see, I was quite strong for a five-year-old, and the Shinobi had heard of me. And, believing I had great potential, which they found out they were right about later, they told me to come train with them and learn the art of ice. I mastered it in record time, so I couldn't come back and tell you. I really missed you, Kagome. I missed all our arguments, your lectures, and how fearless you were." He interjected his explanation with a chuckle. "You never ceased to get be in some sort of trouble, and I respected you for that. It was always so much fun to be around you."  
  
Thinking that would suffice, he stopped. But, apparently, it just wasn't enough. Kagome said, "Why didn't you just refuse if you missed hanging out with me so much?"  
  
He looked at her seriously. "You cannot refuse the Shinobi. If you have been asked to join them and refuse, they will either kill you or, if you are important enough, they will blackmail you into it, possibly with the deaths of loved ones."  
  
Kagome formed a perfect 'o' with her mouth and looked down at the ground. She really was acting naïve, to not have realized that if he could, he would have stayed behind with her. He enjoyed his childhood too much to not have done that.  
  
Suddenly, she grinned wickedly, completely surprising Touya. She turned to look at him. "I can cook, you know. If you have the supplies, I can cook breakfast for all of us."  
  
Touya gave a light smile. "Of course we have the supplies. What do you take us for, bloodthirsty demons who wouldn't mind slaying a few animals and eating the meat raw?"  
  
Kagome giggled. "Nope, I was just checking." She stood up and tapped her foot impatiently. "Well, what are you waiting for? Show me where it is! I want to get started before the others wake up."  
  
Touya stood up as well, passing quietly through the clearing with Kagome following. He headed over toward the only type of man-made object in the clearing: a bag of food and cooking utensils. "Sorry, we're a bit lacking. We are, after all, traveling."  
  
Kagome nodded her head happily and bent over the bag, grabbed a few things, and headed over to the coal fire to cook.  
  
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Feeling the heat of the fire, Risho woke up immediately to discover what was going on. All he saw was the human girl, bending over the fire. "What are you doing?" he asked, a little too harshly.  
  
"I'm making breakfast." How this girl remained so cheerful all the time amazed him.  
  
"What are you making?" he trued again, attempting to make up for his severity.  
  
Kagome replied happily, "It's a surprise! Don't worry, it will taste good."  
  
Risho grunted, then exited the clearing to train on his own. He needed to hone his skills a little.  
  
Bakken woke next, to the wonderful smell of something cooking. "Who's making food?" he asked, still half-asleep.  
  
"I am," replied a still happy voice. He recognized the girl, Kagome.  
  
"Okay. That's nice. Wake me when it's done." He then returned to his sleep, not even bothering to get up.  
  
Gama was the only one who slept through everything. Jin was already awake. He was flying around for no apparent reason. When the food was done, Touya went to retrieve Jin and Risho. He found Risho by a small pond, meditating for a change. After he was on his way back, he found Jin circling above the clearing. He called up to Jin to get his playful butt down here and eat, and he gladly complied.  
  
"Mmm, what's cooking?" the redhead asked as he landed, his mouth starting to water.  
  
Kagome looked at him and smiled. "Nothing's cooking." She laughed at his dejected face. "It's already done! That's why it's not cooking." Kagome always enjoyed doing that to people. It never hurt their feelings or anything and it was fun to see the expressions on their faces.  
  
She picked up a plate, put food on it, and said, "Whoever wants it, come get it."  
  
They proceeded in that manner until everyone was served, and Jin was the last person to get any food. But he was the first person to finish, he liked it so much. "Yum! What is this stuff?" he asked, his mouth full of food.  
  
Kagome laughed. "It's just French toast."  
  
"French toast, huh. Well, I'll have to learn how to make this."  
  
Breaking up the jovial mood, Risho said, "I have an announcement." Everyone looked at him, egging him on to continue.  
  
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Star: How about I just say click the little purple/blue button? 


	7. Chapter 7

Star: HEY!!!! I'M HYPER!!!!  
  
Kagome: And WHY are you hyper???  
  
Star: BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE SCHOOL TODAY!!!!  
  
Kagome: Not fair! Why don't you have school? Are you sick?  
  
Star: NOPE! BECAUSE TODAY IS ONE OF THOSE DAYS THEY SET ASIDE FOR SNOW MAKE- UP DAYS!!! AND WE ALREADY MADE UP THE ONE SNOW DAY WE HAD!!!!  
  
Kagome: Geez, you are really hyper.  
  
Star: I KNOW!!! SAVE THE TREES!!!  
  
Kagome: (sweat drop) Alright, I think Star has officially become totally random now...  
  
Star: NO I HAVEN'T!!! SAVE THE TREES BECAUSE I'M A NATURE-NUT!!!  
  
Kagome: Riiight... I will save all you readers from Star now! Hurry up and read the chapter before the restrains come undone!  
  
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Kurama: 15 Hiei: 1  
  
(mumbles) Crazed Kurama fans...  
  
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Chapter 7  
  
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LAST TIME:  
Breaking up the jovial mood, Risho said, "I have an announcement." Everyone looked at him, egging him on to continue.  
  
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Risho continued, "We are going to participate in the Dark Tournament."  
  
Everyone but Kagome weren't in the least bit taken aback. "Why the Dark Tournament?" she asked, curiosity getting the better of her.  
  
"You know what it is?" There was a look of amazement on Risho's face. He didn't think humans knew about it.  
  
"Well, yeah," she said sheepishly. "Is there some reason why I shouldn't?"  
  
"Oh no, it's just that the only ningens who know of the Dark Tournament happen to be the richest and most evil humans there are," Risho replied, somewhat sarcastic. Then he glanced at Kagome's wondering face. "Well, you obviously aren't either of those things," he added.  
  
Kagome wasn't the least bit taken aback by this comment, though she probably should have been about the 'obviously not RICH' part. "Okay, then does that mean I have to go back to my home in Ningenkai?"  
  
Surprising them all this time, Risho gruffly stated, "No. You will be coming with us to the tournament."  
  
Touya looked worried for a second before his face regained that stupid mask that Kagome hated so much. Jin just gaped; it was not like their leader to take kindly to a human (well not exactly kindly but you know what I mean), let alone let one travel with them, and now he's FORCING one to?!? Gama's thoughts were probably just twisted as usual. (Not in the perverted way, but he creeps me out. It seems to me like he's always thinking about killing or make-up.)  
  
Touya's ever-calm-around-people-he-was-not-particularly-friends-with voice broke the short silence. "Why can she not take a portal back to the Ningenkai? Would it not make more sense for her to go home than to endanger herself among countless demons?"  
  
Risho smirked. "As long as she is always with one of us she will be fine. After all, we are the Sh—"He caught himself. He didn't know whether or not this girl knew about the Shinobi. She apparently knew Touya and about the Dark Tournament, but what else did she know?  
  
Kagome smiled encouragingly. Risho decided that if she didn't know of the Shinobi she would probably think of it as a name they called their group, like a gang. "Shinobi," he finished.  
  
Kagome smiled in recognition. She may have just learned what the Shinobi were, but it was still nice to know that the members of this group were all the Shinobi.  
  
Risho glanced at her. "So, I assume that means you know what the Shinobi are," he said, correctly reading her somewhat relieved visage and smile.  
  
Kagome nodded, then looked up sharply and said, "But when are we going to leave? I am aware that the tournament begins in a matter of a few days, and if I am to be traveling with you guys, I won't be able to keep quite as fast a pace."  
  
Jin apparently had just found his voice, and now it cheerfully spoke up, with that ever-present Scottish (or is it Irish?) accent. "No worries! We're within a day's walking distance of the spot where the ships are to get to the tournament."  
  
Kagome nodded. She also seemed to be doing that quite a bit recently. "Wait, what am I supposed to do when we get to the ships? The way I understand it is that only one team from each ship is to participate in the actual tournament, while the others pretty much die trying to get there. They won't take kindly to a human."  
  
Touya smirked. "You will have to use some of your wonderful acting skills. We'll probably have to 'pretend' that you are our captive. That would be a good excuse for keeping you alive, and as to why we will defend you."  
  
Kagome nodded her head yet again. "Right. So will one of you tell me when to start pretending? I'm afraid I don't know where exactly our destination is, so I won't be able to tell when the time is right."  
  
Risho waved his hand dismissively. "Either Touya or I will pretend to be your abductor or whatever. We are the only ones in this group who have the correct skills for the task. Therefore, one of us will tell you."  
  
That settled, the Shinobi plus one headed off in a brisk pace away from the clearing, heading toward a place where they knew would be multiple demons, just itching to spill some blood.  
  
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The group had been walking for many hours, and for a while Kagome had been sensing weaker demon auras. Oddly enough, the demons didn't worry her; she could easily take them all out in one major blast, she guessed, what with her miko energy and all. Although she could faintly smell salt water, Kagome still did not believe that they were anywhere near the ships. Why would a bunch of weaklings be so close to a known meeting place for demons waiting to participate in the Dark Tournament? It made no sense.  
  
Suddenly, Touya grabbed her wrist suddenly, causing her to jump. Looking into Touya's eyes for an explanation, she got one: it was time to start acting. So, grumping heavily, Kagome resisted as Touya practically dragged her along the path, unknowingly to her mere minutes away from their destination. She didn't make a sound, though. Even she, a 'baka ningen,' knew better than to attract attention from a bunch of demons by making loud noises.  
  
As the group stepped into a clearing where the smell of salt water was very strong, Kagome stopped struggling in her awe. There were about 50 demons all gathered here for the same ship, not to mention multiple other groups of the same size waiting for other vessels to arrive. With all the demon auras, it was hard to sense which ones might be formidable opponents from the other crowds as well as from this one. Their particular crowd, beginning to load onto the ship with the arrival of their last team, had no strong groups, not even a strong individual.  
  
Putting up the act one more, Kagome was led up to the deck of the ship, only stopped once by a foolish attendant. He had declared that humans were not allowed on board, but was taken care of quickly by a glare that meant death via Risho.  
  
Touya, never letting go of Kagome's hand, followed Risho over to the edge of the deck, where they were less likely to be surrounded by demons and attacked in an attempt to end their lives. Kagome immediately stalked over to the ship's rail, pulling Touya with her, and proceeded to look out over the water through the night, her forced angry countenance being replaced with a content one. Touya's hand still held almost protectively onto her wrist.  
  
Suddenly, her expression turned curious as she was hit with an extraordinary aura coming from the ship that was departing next to them. Actually, she sensed five auras; all the rest on that ship were so small in comparison that she could barely feel them. Closing her eyes, Kagome probed more deeply into her mind to discover what these people were. They didn't all feel like humans to her. She soon found her assumption to be correct; one was most definitely a demon, one was some kind of spirit, and the remaining three were human. Pureblooded humans, with exceptionally high spirit energy.  
  
Sighing, Kagome shook her head. 'Who the heck are they?' she thought, before she felt a strong hand grip her shoulder.  
  
(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)  
  
Star: Um, yeah, well I'm not hyper anymore.  
  
Kagome: That's a good change of events. (anime happy face)  
  
Star: (sweat drop) Could you like get me out of this straitjacket now please?  
  
Kagome: Nope!  
  
Star: Why not?  
  
Kagome: Because I don't feel like it.  
  
Star: (death-with-much-pain glare)  
  
Kagome: I changed my mind! I'll be happy to!  
  
Star: Alright folks, REVIEW please!!! 


	8. Chapter 8

Star: Hey! My best buddy Scythe finally agreed to be my muse!  
  
Scythe: Number one: I am not your best buddy. Number two: I did NOT agree to this, you just threatened to stop using me in your role-play sessions.  
  
Star: I did? (shrug) Oh well!  
  
Scythe: (grumbles)(smirk) That means her chappies will get even better with an official muse on the job!  
  
Star: Like they weren't already good before!  
  
Scythe: (shrug) I didn't say they weren't good, I just said they'll be better.  
  
Star: (growl) Anyways folks, if you hadn't already noticed this, I WUV role- playing! IM me if you want to role-play some time, or if you just want to talk! If you want to learn, I'm willing to teach!  
  
(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)  
  
Hiei: 1 Kurama: 21  
  
Um, can all you Hiei fans out there actually make him give Kurama some competition? It's WAY too boring with Kurama so far ahead...  
  
(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)  
  
Chapter 8  
  
(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)  
  
LAST TIME:  
Sighing, Kagome shook her head. 'Who the heck are they?' she thought, before she felt a strong hand grip her shoulder.  
  
(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)  
  
"What is it?" Touya asked, removing his hand from his friend's shoulder. His tone was very convincingly bored, but Kagome knew better. It was still an act, put on to fool the lesser demons that may be listening.  
  
Kagome smirked. "It appears that you will have some tough contenders. They are currently over on that ship next to us."  
  
Forcing himself not to feel worry over what she said, Touya quickly came back with, "And how would you know, wretched ningen. They are all the way on that other ship, it is dark, and you cannot see that far, let alone in the dark. Plus, you are human. Humans can't sense things like that."  
  
A loud snort was heard coming from the single, surprisingly small, human girl on board ship. But, she kept her cool and didn't make any retort to that comment. Her little act needed to seem somewhat submissive but still a little arrogant, considering she was supposed to be kidnapped by a group of demons she did not know and did not particularly want to know.  
  
Touya placed his hands on Kagome's shoulders and turned her around to face the rest of the ship. Now she could see that the battle between the team captains was about to begin. The stadium was rising slowly out of the center of the deck and team captains were leaving from their small groups to get on it.  
  
"Chances are, once Risho beats them, they will all lead an attack against us, so be on the ready," Touya said.  
  
"Sure. Of course, that is just like low-level demons, starting a losing war even when they outnumber their prey, just to get something they want." It didn't surprise Kagome at all to hear they would most likely be attacked; she knew for a fact that demons didn't take kindly to losing, kind of the same as humans. Oh well, she'd have to show any who came her way why you shouldn't mess with a miko. Actually, why you shouldn't mess with a human who's been trained.  
  
There was a bright flash of light in the arena, and everybody in the ring was dead. 'I think they were disintegrated!' thought Kagome, holding back laughter.  
  
Now comes the attack... "Hey Kagome, can you handle yourself here?" came Touya's voice from not far away.  
  
"Yep!" she responded happily, before crouching in a defensive position. Touya noticed with approval that it converted quite easily into an offensive stance.  
  
Turning back to his own problems, he started destroying low-level demons. Before more could come at him, he turned back to watch how Kagome was doing.  
  
There were several demons attacking Kagome at once, but she was refraining from using her miko abilities, instead trading them for a chance to practice her physical attacks. She was effortlessly dodging each of their attacks, even when more than one attacked at once. Kagome was actually SMILING while she fought, like she enjoyed it; Touya would have to ask Kagome about that later.  
  
One demon attacked from the front, causing Kagome to step back. As soon as she did, another demon attacked from her rear, which she easily sidestepped. The demons were actually getting smart... Go figure! Yet another attacked from her left, which she dodged, AGAIN, and then from the right. They kept repeating the pattern, until one decided to attack from behind before she landed and was able to dodge again, hoping to actually land a hit.  
  
Boy, was he wrong! Instead of the hit landing, Kagome sensed the attack and twisted gracefully in midair, her fist connecting with the demon's face, throwing him back onto the ground. She quickly turned back around to face the remaining...let's say, five opponents, once again crouching in a defensive position.  
  
Before the demon Kagome had already knocked down could wake up and attack again, Touya zipped over and sliced him in half. Then he went back to observing. Kagome was quite good.  
  
After more dodging, Kagome finally got a look on her face as if she were bored. "Is that all you guys can do?" she asked in a disappointed, whiny voice. "Touya was better than all of you put together when he was five."  
  
This angered the demons, and they began to attack blindly. One by one, they were sent to the ground by a now even more bored Kagome. All it took was a quick punch to the face and they were down. And Kagome wasn't even that strong! That is, if you go by brute strength; the reason she's so strong is because she knows how to hit something JUST right to make it hurt A LOT.  
  
There was a slight haze of sweat on Kagome's forehead when she was done, but it was more from excitement than from exertion. Little did she know she had attracted an audience during her little exercise. Touya still looked shocked, as did the rest of the Shinobi.  
  
"Where did you learn to fight like that?" demanded Risho. It irked him to no end that a mere human could have taken so many low-level demons at once, let alone defeated them! Not that he was jealous, but he didn't like the idea of a human rising in power until they could overthrow even the weakest of demons. It just wasn't in the laws of dominance.  
  
Kagome shrugged. "I guess, just over the years, starting when I was like five."  
  
"I didn't ask WHEN you learned, I asked WHERE you learned. As in, who was your sensei?"  
  
Kagome got a little bit of a sheepish expression on her face. "Uh, well, if I tell you, you might want to kill me."  
  
"That's preposterous. Now just tell me!"  
  
Kagome was shocked. "I-I was trained by a miko," she replied, startled.  
  
"WHAT?!?" Risho exploded.  
  
"I TOLD YOU NOT TO GET MAD!!!" Kagome had her own little explosion there. (HAHA!!! I like explosions...)  
  
"NO, you didn't, you told me NOT TO WANT TO KILL YOU!"  
  
She sweat-dropped. "Erm, I guess that's right. Oh well, but you wouldn't want to kill me if you were not mad at me for some reason beforehand, so there!" Kagome finished by sticking her tongue out at him.  
  
Risho just stared at her blankly. Did she just stick her tongue out at him? No, he must have imagined it. No human would ever stick their tongue out at HIM, the earth master of the Shinobi.  
  
Jin cracked up, holding his stomach from all the laughter, while Touya chuckled and shook his head. The expression on Risho's face was priceless! Kagome couldn't hold in the laughter any longer, so she too burst out in a fit of giggles. Bakken and Gama, well, they just stood there looking stupid. Apparently they didn't understand how a human could do that to Risho.  
  
Risho's cold voice broke the humor in the moment. "What do you think you are doing, girl?"  
  
Kagome immediately became somber, but Jin was still plagued by large shudders of silent laughter. Touya just looked indifferent. "What do you mean?" she asked, all smiles and innocence.  
  
"Why were you laughing?" Risho demanded.  
  
"I was laughing...at...the...expression...on...your face." Just remembering his previous countenance was enough to almost make her burst out laughing. She had to work hard to keep it inside.  
  
Risho scoffed and turned to walk away. He would have to find a way to get answers from the ningen later; she was way too sneaky for him to get a straight answer.  
  
Then, Kagome finally noticed that there was no one left on the ship, with the exception of the captain and crew. "Eh, where did everyone go?" she asked.  
  
Touya was the one who answered. "Oh, them. We took care of them all, aside from the six you were battling. By the way, that was quite an interesting match you had there."  
  
Kagome turned to look at him. "And what exactly do you mean by 'interesting'?" she asked suspiciously, narrowing her eyes and crossing her arms.  
  
"I mean just what I said, interesting."  
  
"Interesting as in a good way or as in a bad way?"  
  
Touya shrugged. "I guess, in a good way. Those demons didn't even stand a chance against you from the start, especially if you had used your miko abilities."  
  
Kagome sighed. "Are demons always that pathetic? Wait, I change my mind about that question. Are demons as weak as that always so pathetic that they attempt to take on a tournament that they have no chance of winning?"  
  
"Actually, demons that are that weak are incredibly stupid, most of the time. A few may be smarter, but they are nothing compared to us high- level demons."  
  
Kagome raised an eyebrow. "And that would mean...?" she probed, hoping to get a straight response for once.  
  
Touya smirked. "That is for me to know and you to find out." He turned to walk away, but before he could, Kagome had used a sudden burst of speed to grab his shoulder and restrain him as she cut off his path.  
  
"I suggest you tell me now, Touya, or I might have to hurt you." Surprisingly, Kagome wasn't panting, nor had she any idea how she just did that so fast. Oh well, ask questions now, answer them later.  
  
"Fine, fine," he said dismissively. "High-level demons include those based on the more advanced animal types, like canines, cats, and some foxes, along with the humanoid types, like me."  
  
"Humanoid?" she questioned doubtfully.  
  
"A term made for the general group of, well, those whose power is based on an attribute, and they also look like humans. Like ice apparitions; they are regarded very highly among the society of demons."  
  
"Are you an ice apparition?"  
  
"Of course not. I am no apparition; I am a demon. There IS a difference, you know. Demons are mostly cold and heartless, while apparitions are pure of heart, mind, and soul. Usually, that is true, as it most obviously isn't in this particular ice demon," Touya joked. She was rubbing off on him too much. Soon he would start lecturing his boss, or the tournament referee. Now THAT would be amusing.  
  
He smirked then brushed past Kagome, heading over to the area where they got on the ship at the start of the journey. They were docking as he and Kagome were talking, so they should be able to exit in a moment or two.  
  
Touya soon saw that he was right as the ramp leading from the ship to the ground was set up, and he pulled a once again protesting Kagome over to it with him.  
  
(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)  
  
Star: Kagome kicks butt!  
  
Scythe: I can do better than that.  
  
Star: I have no doubt that you could, but how would you fare against her miko powers?  
  
Scythe: They wouldn't affect me, smart one.  
  
Star: And why NOT???  
  
Scythe: Because I have miko powers too! Geez, you created me, you should know my powers...  
  
Star: I should? Oopsie... I'll have to check in on that then.  
  
Scythe: (snort)  
  
Sesshy: Can I kill her now?  
  
Scythe: Go right ahead! It will be my pleasure to watch!  
  
Sesshy: Excellent...This shall prove entertaining... 


	9. Chapter 9

Star: Hey folks! Well guess what?  
  
Scythe: (hopeful) You are going to die and I will be freed from duty as your muse?  
  
Star: (eye twitches) No, I need help with something.  
  
Scythe: (suppressed laughter) Oh, I'm sorry to hear that.  
  
Star: I'll bet you are... Anyway, I was wondering if any of you could give me an idea for a way to connect Kagome to Yusuke? Like directly, family or something like that? Pretty please? (puppy dog eyes)  
  
Scythe: If no one helps out, I'm sure I will be able to think of something, being the wonderful muse that I am.  
  
Star: Shut up, you cocky vampire.  
  
Scythe: Hey! What did I say about calling me vampire?!?  
  
Star: But you are one.  
  
Scythe: Only half! The other half is a wide range of demon blood that I am very proud of. (crosses arms and turns away)  
  
Star: But—  
  
Scythe: NO BUTS!!! THE NEXT TIME YOU SAY SOMETHING ABOUT IT I WILL FIRE ENERGY BALLS AT YOU!!!!  
  
Star: (gulp) Yes Scythe...  
  
(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)  
  
Hiei: 15 Kurama: 24  
  
WARNING: CHAPTER 11 WILL BE THE LAST CHAPTER FOR VOTES! THE FINAL COUNT WILL BE GIVEN ON CHAPTER 12!!!  
  
(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)  
  
Chapter 9:  
  
(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)  
  
LAST TIME:  
He smirked then brushed past Kagome, heading over to the area where they got on the ship at the start of the journey. They were docking as he and Kagome were talking, so they should be able to exit in a moment or two.  
  
Touya soon saw that he was right as the ramp leading from the ship to the ground was set up, and he pulled a once again protesting Kagome over to it with him.  
  
(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)  
  
Risho and the others arrived on the ground next to them a moment later.  
  
"Nice acting!" Jin complimented happily once there was no danger of being overheard.  
  
Kagome blushed. "Thanks! I've kind of been doing things like that all my life," she said modestly. She never COULD take a compliment... "Um, where are we supposed to go now?" she asked, changing the subject. Besides, she really wanted to know anyway!  
  
"We must go to the hotel here on the island, where the gathering is for all the rules and junk. I don't see WHY we have to go, but it is required that all participating teams must go and sit through the boring lecture," Risho explained. Then he looked thoughtful. "But Koenma's team does not have to go... I would like to know why, but it doesn't really matter I guess."  
  
Kagome's curiosity peaked. "Who's Koenma?"  
  
Gama balked at her. "You don't know who Koenma is? What are you, a complete imbecile?"  
  
This earned Gama a death glare from the miko. "I do not know who Koenma is. I am sure the reason is because I am ONLY a human." She glared some more at the make-up master reproachfully.  
  
Touya decided to speak up for some unknown reason. "I am sure that IS the reason, actually. Koenma is the ruler of Rekai, and therefore has control over demons AND humans, so those that know him respect him."  
  
Kagome huffed and crossed her arms, looking away. "I don't see what's so special about this Koenma person anyways. I mean, if I don't know who he is, then how can I respect him?"  
  
Jin laughed, causing Kagome to smile. "That is true," he said. "If you don't know someone, how CAN you respect them?"  
  
The others decided not to answer this. Risho sighed. "Come on. If we have to go to this meeting, I would like to not be late. It could cost us in the tournament." With that, he began walking away toward the fabled hotel and the sure-to-be-tedious assembly.  
  
(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)  
  
Oh boy! Was Risho ever right that that would be boring! The group had just gotten out of the meeting and was now in their assigned rooms. Kagome had had to go to the meeting because for some reason they did not want to see her dead... It was understandable for Touya to feel that way, and maybe even Jin, but Bakken, Gama, and Risho HATED humans. It was kind of confusing Kagome, but she didn't let it bother her.  
  
There wasn't really enough space in the room they had been given for the five members of a participating team, let alone an extra roommate, so Kagome had volunteered to sleep on the couch. Of course, concerned for his friend's safety, Touya had also volunteered to sleep on the other couch, opposite the coffee table from Kagome.  
  
"Tomorrow I will begin training you," he confided in her before they went to bed.  
  
"Why are you going to train me?" Kagome wanted to know.  
  
"Because, not all demons are as weak as those ones on the ship, and you will need to know how to defend yourself against them."  
  
"And how exactly are you going to train me? You do have matches you know, and you can't miss them or your team is disqualified."  
  
"That is my secret."  
  
"Okay, then what are you going to train me IN?"  
  
"The art of using a sword, probably a katana, and some of the more advanced ways of defending yourself. Though your speed is great, most demons' is greater, so that advantage will not always be on your side."  
  
"Fine, whatever..." Kagome was getting sleepy all of a sudden. Her eyes slowly drifted lower and lower as she curled up on her couch into her blanket, and soon, she was fast asleep.  
  
(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)  
  
Kagome woke up a little groggy, but shook it off in a matter of seconds. Today she was going to train! Man, she couldn't wait!  
  
Seeing that Touya was also in the process of waking up, she whispered to him, "Hey Touya, when are we going to start training?"  
  
Touya had to blink for a moment before his head was working properly. "Right after we eat, I suppose. Why, are you anxious to start?" he said with a grin. Oh, how he enjoyed teasing her!  
  
Kagome grumbled a bit, but decided to grace the ice master with an answer. "Of course I am looking forward to it. Training has been pretty much the only thing in my entire life that I actually looked forward to."  
  
At this, Touya feigned a hurt look. "You didn't even look forward to hanging out with me when we were kids?"  
  
Kagome giggled. "How about, SINCE YOU LEFT training was the only thing I looked forward to."  
  
Touya nodded in satisfaction. "Good. Now, when are you suggesting we eat? My team has a match later today. We need to begin as soon as possible."  
  
Kagome happily stood and walked over to the bathroom, where she proceeded to get dressed. Returning to the main room, she headed over to the door and tapped her foot impatiently. "Well, I'm suggesting that we leave now, but it looks like you aren't ready yet, Mr. I'm-in-a-big-hurry." She smirked.  
  
Touya smirked right back and before she could even blink, was dressed and ready to head out the door.  
  
"Crap, I forgot you were a demon," she mumbled, but it was loud enough for Touya to hear.  
  
"Why, I think that it would be a terrible mistake to forget something like that, Kagome. Though I do take that as a compliment in saying that I am not completely heartless when I'm around my friends."  
  
With that, the two headed down to the Oriental Breakfast area in the restaurant to have a quick bite to eat (donuts for Kagome, fruit for Touya). After they finished, they rushed out the door and stopped at the line of trees after they got out of the crowd of demons. Touya grinned wickedly.  
  
"I do NOT like the look on your face, Touya!" scolded Kagome. There was more than a hint of worry in her voice as she said it.  
  
He looked at her with childlike eyes. "I'm not going to do anything Kagome! Honest! You're my best friend, how could I hurt you?"  
  
Kagome rolled her eyes. "I remember that look from when we were little, so don't you go thinking you can fool me! Something is up your sleeve..." She looked at him suspiciously.  
  
"Come on, let's have a race."  
  
"To where?"  
  
"Just follow me!"  
  
"Hey! That's not fair! If I follow you, then there's no way I can win the race." He pretended not to hear her, as he had already taken off for the desired location. "You come back here!" Kagome yelled after him as she caught up to his lessened speed. (Duh! If he went full speed, then Kagome wouldn't be able to catch up OR follow behind.)  
  
Kagome followed about a foot behind Touya until he stopped suddenly in a clearing, causing her to fall on top of him. Well, not really on top of him, but she ran into him because she couldn't stop fast enough. Touya was still standing as Kagome seethed.  
  
"Well, that was a good warm-up!" he said cheerfully, looking around at the small lake, the large boulder next to it, and around the clearing they were in. "Now, I want you to stand on that rock there," Touya continued.  
  
Kagome glanced at him, then at the water, suspiciously. "Whatever," she stated, before stepping up on the rock and turning to face him.  
  
Touya materialized a katana out of ice, examined it for a second to make sure it was right, and then handed it to Kagome. She gripped it pretty well, but it wasn't quite right. Touya understood that she really HADN'T handled a katana for a while. He patiently re-taught her how to hold one correctly.  
  
"There, that should be good. I'll be going now to my match." He turned to walk away, but wasn't surprised in the least when Kagome yelled at him.  
  
"WHAT!? You teach me how to hold a katana correctly then you walk away? That's NOT a lesson, stupid."  
  
"You forget this is ME we are talking about. That isn't all to my lesson plan. YOU will stay here and practice holding the sword correctly while I go to my match. I will return after the match is done."  
  
"There is no WAY I am going to stand here and hold this katana while you go off and have fun fighting. I am at least going to watch--" she was cut off as she felt a sudden cold at her feet, but it quickly disappeared. Looking down at her feet, she noticed that she was frozen to the rock. Then she felt something cold on her hands, and no, it was not the sword. When she investigated, she discovered that her hands were frozen to the katana in the correct position.  
  
Kagome turned to face Touya. "What did you do that for?" she yelled in a demanding tone.  
  
Touya was already turning to walk away as he answered. "It's the only way to keep you here and training while I'm gone. I'll be back after the match. See you later!" She watched as he disappeared into the shadowed woods.  
  
(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)  
  
Star: My brother actually cares... Aw, how sweet!  
  
Scythe: No, he just thinks Hiei is cool...  
  
Star: Party pooper...  
  
Scythe: For cryin' out loud! It was one lousy vote!  
  
Star: STILL, he hasn't even read the story and he voted!  
  
Scythe: (shakes head) I'm getting a migraine...  
  
Kagome: Oh, and did I mention that I KICK BUTT!!  
  
Star: YAY FOR KAGS!!!!  
  
Scythe: What did I do to deserve this... 


	10. Chapter 10

Star: Hey peoples! How are y'all doing?  
  
Scythe: Star, shut up.  
  
Star: What, I'm just being polite...  
  
Scythe: Which is why I would like for you to shut up.  
  
Star: Fine, BE that way. (crosses arms and stops talking for like 5 seconds) Hey, is it all right if I go and kill Naraku? Pretty please???  
  
Scythe: First of all, I don't care. Second of all, I don't care. Third of all, I don't care. And fourth of all, did I mention I don't care?  
  
Star: Yea, you said that a couple of times, I think.  
  
Scythe: You THINK?  
  
Star: (shrug) Wasn't paying attention!  
  
Scythe: I am going to kill you one of these days...  
  
(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)(!)  
  
Hiei: 20 Kurama: 33  
  
REMEMBER: Next chapter is the last chance to cast your vote(s)! Don't forget!  
  
(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)  
  
Chapter 10  
  
(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)  
  
LAST TIME:  
Touya was already turning to walk away as he answered. "It's the only way to keep you here and training while I'm gone. I'll be back after the match. See you later!" She watched as he disappeared into the shadowed woods.  
  
(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)  
  
Well if that wasn't just great! Kagome would get back at him later. Right now, she might as well try some practice moves. That is, if she could; maybe all she could do was stand here and hold the katana. If so, then it sucked even worse to be her.  
  
After attempting a few defensive moves, Kagome smiled. At least Touya wasn't stupid enough to prevent her from moving. So, she continued practicing her parrying. It was actually pretty good, considering she hadn't practiced in about, what, three years?  
  
(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)  
  
"A human? Here? At the Dark Tournament?" Hiei was currently training, just to sharpen his skills even more. Upon sensing a human, he paused in the middle of a punch. The only humans he knew of were the baka and the Spirit Detective. They were the only ones strong enough to actually come. But there's another human?  
  
Curiosity getting the better of him, Hiei dashed off through the trees to investigate the mysterious, or maybe just stupid, human.  
  
(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)  
  
At about the same time, Kurama had been working with his Rose Whip. When he sensed Hiei's presence quickly leave the area it had been in previously, he decided to follow. It wasn't as if he HAD to be practicing right then, and besides, it was kind of getting a little boring.  
  
So, he also took off in the same direction as Hiei's energy, hoping to meet up with him. Curse his kitsune curiosity...  
  
(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)  
  
Kagome had long since tired of practicing her defensive moves, so she was just standing there, bored, trying to think of something to do. She WOULD be tapping her fingers on some hard object, such as her chin, but she couldn't really remove her hand from the ice katana.  
  
She found herself looking with actual interest into the water of the clear pool next to the boulder she was standing on. She had to twist her body a little in order to be able to see it, but she didn't mind. She turned it into stretching time, just to humor herself.  
  
'...15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20.' Kagome was counting to 20 in her head then turning the other way. The water looked so cool... Man, she was dying! She was getting thirsty, not to mention hot, standing in direct sunlight for several hours straight. Shouldn't Touya's match have ended already? It can't possibly have taken them this long to win three lousy fights, unless...  
  
She spread her powers out to try and see if she could sense the demons that Touya was fighting, or had been fighting a while ago, if her assumption was correct. 'Curse you, Touya! You aren't at a match anymore! Neither is the rest of your team! As a matter of fact, you are all near the hotel! Training, no doubt. You better not have forgotten your FRIEND, or I will personally make your life a living nightmare.'  
  
Kagome's grumbling thoughts were disrupted when she felt the sudden presence of a demon. There were two demons, to be precise, and they were both heading toward her. She gulped. 'Crap! I'm stuck to a rock and two strong demons are coming my way. Oh my gosh, all they have to do is shove this rock into the water, and I am so dead! That way, I can't even fight back! Did I curse you already, Touya? Oh well. Curse you!'  
  
She returned to a face-forward position, her body un-twisted, when she heard, or rather felt, one of the demons enter the clearing, surprise etched in her features. She wasn't surprised about a demon being there there, which is what Hiei thought, but rather that he was so SHORT! She herself wasn't very tall, but he was still shorter than her. What, about 2 or 3 inches if they were standing on level ground? (Without his hair, he is 4' 10". Just a fact I learned in Saturday's episode...) As if that wasn't enough, he looked like a total Goth, and his hair defied gravity!  
  
Kagome turned, another confused look on her visage, as another, much taller, demon walked into the clearing. This guy looked nicer, but it might just have been his calm demeanor. His hair was a fiery red, much like Jin's, but his eyes were the most stunning shade of green Kagome had ever seen, in an excellent contrast to his hair. He was wearing a white uniform- type outfit, with a pink-like trim. Weirder still, he seemed to soothe her somewhat. BOTH demons did, despite the short one's... ferocity.  
  
Kagome kept looking from one demon to the other, not quite afraid thanks to the taller one, but clearly not happy with the situation. Hiei was the one who spoke up first, obviously intrigued by the ningen's position, stuck on a rock, holding a sword. "Oh, so it was a ningen girl? Disappointing," he said in monotone, but he did not leave. He stayed there examining the girl. She was actually quite beautiful... Stop thinking like that Hiei!  
  
Kurama, while Hiei was able to keep himself in check, was straining to keep his demon personality in check. His instincts wanted to go and help her with whatever she needed, maybe even take her while he was at it... After all, she WAS very beautiful. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he voiced to his fellow demon, "So this girl was the thing that had you curious?"  
  
Hiei gave a stiff nod, and replied, "I sensed a human, and they usually don't hang out around here, aside from the Spirit Detective and the baka." He watched as the girl seemed to stiffen with the mention of a Spirit Detective. He turned his full attention on her. "What are you doing here?" he demanded coldly.  
  
Kagome met his eyes and gave an involuntary shiver. His eyes are kind of creepy, but he seems alright, just a little cold. She remained silent, not really knowing what to say.  
  
Kurama understood why she couldn't answer, so he asked what he hoped was an easier question. "Would you mind telling us why you are frozen to that rock, and why you are holding a katana made of ice?" he said, studying her closely. She didn't look uncomfortable to be near demons, but rather to be near them in a situation in which she has a great disadvantage. Interesting...  
  
Kagome gave a tremulous smile to the redhead. "S-sure. I was training, and in order to keep me here he had to freeze me to the rock. I wanted to see his match real bad..."  
  
"And the sword?" Kurama prompted. That sword was also interesting...  
  
"Oh, he was training me with it, and my grip wasn't quite right, so he made me hold it like this until the match was over." Kagome's nervousness wasn't near as bad as it had been before, seeing as how these demons were just curious, not wanting to kill her. At least, she thought they were.  
  
Kurama quirked an eyebrow at that last comment. "How does he know you are not shirking his wishes and holding the katana incorrectly?"  
  
Looking down in what seemed like embarrassment, Kagome explained, "He froze my hands to it, too. I can't remove them."  
  
Kurama actually looked concerned for a moment. 'He froze her hands? But she doesn't appear to be chilled by any of the ice. Is she an ice apparition in disguise? No, she isn't, I can most definitely sense the human in her and nothing else.' The look passed as his thoughts ended.  
  
His eye twitching, the short one spoke up again. "Who the heck is 'he?' And why would 'he' be training a filthy human?"  
  
Kagome appeared offended, and her infamous temper was rising. "I am NOT a 'filthy human' and 'he' is my sensei, smart one!" It was a good thing she could keep her anger in check...  
  
"But WHO is your sensei? I want a NAME," he spat back. This girl might actually be worth the competition in a battle of words...  
  
"Touya," she retorted resolutely, without thinking that he may know him. Luckily, he didn't. "And he could kick your butt if you guys were to fight, just like I am sure I would be able to."  
  
Kurama raised his eyes at this. 'Does she not realize we are demons, or does she not realize who Hiei is? This girl gets weirder and weirder,' he thought as he looked on in amusement.  
  
"Why you! You shall pay dearly for that, baka ningen!" Hiei yelled, drawing his own steel katana. It wasn't ordinary steel though; nope, it was harder than steel, much harder. He was preparing to attack when his 'friend' intervened. But, alas, Kurama was just a hair late in his defense of the girl, and he braced himself for the coming impact. Yet another pastime was destroyed...  
  
Or was it? He stared, wide-eyed, at the girl who was panting slightly but otherwise unaffected by Hiei's blow. The blow hadn't even struck! Kagome had brought up her own ice katana and parried it, standing in a glaring match with the attacker. Gods, was she glad she was able to parry that! She was also glad she had decided to practice for a little while before she got bored of it.  
  
"I am sorry for the insult, Mr. Katana-man," the girl said sweetly. It was almost too sweet. Suddenly her eyes gave her away and she said, "Now get away from me and why the HECK did you attack me?"  
  
Ignoring her comment and false apology, Hiei backed off a little and continued staring at her. "Humans, particularly UNTRAINED humans, cannot defend against my attack. Though it was not easy for you, I would still like to know how you did that."  
  
Kagome huffed, and would have crossed her arms but for the sword she was still gripping, and retorted with, "I am not UNTRAINED, as you so rudely put it. He is simply RETRAINING me after not using a katana in 3 years. I was originally trained by a very skilled..." The rest of her sentence was stated so quietly that neither of the demons could understand it, even WITH their enhanced hearing.  
  
She was asked to repeat it. "You do NOT want to know, and I do NOT have to tell you."  
  
There was yet another glaring contest between two particular hotheads and the silence was bugging Kurama, the only calm one it seemed. "Ahem, I do not believe we have introduced ourselves. I am Kurama, and this is Hiei."  
  
"Name's Kagome," she gave gruffly. So much for breaking the silence.  
  
"Erm, would you like some help getting down from that rock?"  
  
"Well, Touya SAID he'd come back for me after his match." Kagome debated in her head on whether she should trust them. The redhead, Kurama, seemed be all right, but not the Goth. Hiei, she remembered.  
  
"Excuse me for saying so, but there are no fights going on at this time. The matches scheduled for this morning are long over with, so I doubt he will be coming back anytime soon."  
  
"I realized that a long time ago, but there is absolutely no way I can combat the magic of an ice master," Kagome sighed. Touya was so infuriating!  
  
Thankfully, neither demon noticed her slip in the title of 'him.' Kurama continued with, "Are you sure you do not wish for help? I'm sure Hiei here could help. He specializes in fire."  
  
Again, Kagome refused, this time by shaking her head to the negative. She could sense Touya coming back. Oh, he had better not have forgotten about her and just now remembered, or else his well-being is going to be MAJORLY threatened.  
  
(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)  
  
Star: SLIGHT cliffie, but it's actually a good one!  
  
Scythe: Yes, now you can all think about what exactly Kagome is going to do to Touya...  
  
Star: Will she kill him?  
  
Scythe: O.o;;; YOU are the one who wrote it, you should remember!!!  
  
Star: I should? (shrug) Oh well.  
  
Scythe: (pulls out rope and a gag) If you do not become more tolerable, I will tie you to that tree over there!  
  
Star: What does tolerable mean?  
  
Scythe: Argh! (ties Star to the tree and gags her) Tolerable means NOT ANNOYING!!!  
  
Star: Ah ess ah aye oh ate ore ish.  
  
Scythe: Oh yes, you VERY much DID violate my wish... NOW, since the next chapter is already written, SHUT UP!!!! 


	11. Chapter 11

Scythe: VOTE OR I WILL PERSONALLY ATTACK YOU WITH MULTIPLE ENERGY BALLS!!!!  
  
Star: (eye twitches) Scythe, if you are stupid enough to attack my kind reviewers, I will attack YOU!  
  
Scythe: Like a lowly cat demon could do any harm...  
  
Star: OH YEAH?!? Well I've got miko powers!  
  
Scythe: And those won't do any good because I have them too!  
  
Star: And yet you have control over the shadows and anything dark... Thanks to your wonderful staff of course.  
  
Scythe: Dark is not the same as evil, so just bug off! Also, I don't see YOU controlling anything at all.  
  
Star: That's because I have control over plants.  
  
Scythe: What, they don't listen to you or something?  
  
Star: They listen, but I don't order them around.  
  
Scythe: Whatever...  
  
Kagome: GUYS!!! COULD YOU LIKE FREAKING GET OVER YOURSELVES AND GO ON WITH THE STORY???  
  
Star and Scythe: Yes, ma'am...  
  
(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)  
  
Hiei: 26 Kurama: 43  
  
LAST CHANCE TO VOTE!!!! NEXT CHAPTER THE PAIRING OFFICIALLY STARTS!!!  
  
(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)  
  
Chapter 11  
  
(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)  
  
LAST TIME: She could sense Touya coming back. Oh, he had better not have forgotten about her and just now remembered, or else his well-being is going to be MAJORLY threatened.  
  
(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)  
  
All eyes looked in the same direction as a young man with light blue hair and green, spiked bangs walked coolly over to Kagome, who was sending him a serious death glare. Kurama was looking on in amusement, as Hiei directed his focus on the newcomer.  
  
"How could you leave me here like this?" Kagome half-yelled. Her tone became dry. "What, did you forget all morning to come back after your fight ended? And you call yourself my teacher..."  
  
Touya regarded her calmly. "I did not forget you; I simply thought it would be good for your memory if you held the katana correctly for more than an hour. Actually, if you would hold it for more than a HALF an hour, as the match ended quite early."  
  
"So you leave me here for three or more hours, ALONE, when I can hardly move to defend myself should a demon attack, just to prove a point to my already well-developed sense of the use of katanas? Cut the crap Touya."  
  
"What crap?" he smiled innocently. "I am telling the truth. I did not forget you all those hours ago."  
  
-He's lying, Fox.-  
  
-Yes I know, Hiei. But how can the girl tell?-  
  
-You expect ME to know?-  
  
-She is only a normal human like Yusuke and Kuwabara, one with training. Nonetheless, she shouldn't be able to sense his lies.-  
  
-Hn.-  
  
An evilly grinning Kagome brought them out of their telepathic conversation. "I understand you did not forget me those hours ago, but you DID forget me more recently. I am sure that sensing the demon presence near my own was what sparked your memory."  
  
Touya looked down sheepishly. "Well, I guess it's no use to try and hide something from you, now is it?"  
  
"Since when has it EVER been any good?" Kagome was undoubtedly amused. "Don't answer that because I already know the answer. Now could you release me from this freaking ICE???"  
  
"Eh, heh, heh, heh. Of course I can." Touya proceeded to melt the ice formed around Kagome's feet and, after she jumped down, the ice connecting her to the katana. The katana was still in tact, though, and Kagome was actually holding it correctly.  
  
"You were planning that all along, weren't you? I knew I didn't like that glint in your eyes earlier! You are just lucky I am not going to lecture you..."  
  
"Um, excuse me, but how did you meet each other? I find it very odd for a human to know a demon so well, and vise versa." Kurama was indeed confused.  
  
Now that Kagome saw him at ground level, she saw he was very tall. He was definitely not as tall as Bakken, but still pretty tall; he towered over her by at least 6 inches. She turned to face him completely before answering. "We've known each other since we were five. I don't remember how we met, exactly, it was so long ago. I WISH it was just a teacher and student relationship, but no luck on my part."  
  
"Oh? Well, in that case, would you mind telling me where you were trained? It is quite extraordinary to be able to block one of Hiei's attacks."  
  
Kagome sweat-dropped. "Eh, it is? Well, like I said before, you really don't want to know where I was trained."  
  
Kurama smiled lightly. "I was actually hoping that you would slip and tell after the second time I asked. Ah well, I suppose I might find out later." He looked over at Hiei. "We should go now; our match will be starting shortly and I don't think our team is in any condition to fight without us."  
  
"Hn." With that, Hiei unceremoniously exited the area via the trees, presumably on his way to the stadium. Kurama shook his head at his friend's rudeness.  
  
"I apologize for him. I suppose we shall meet in the tournament some time," he said, nodding to Touya. "Farewell." Then he, too, raced away.  
  
After watching them go, Kagome turned to Touya with a wicked grin. "If I am left out of any more matches, I will personally make your life a nightmare," she threatened. "Now that we are clear on that, how about we continue training?" Hefting the ice katana in her hand, she got into the right position.  
  
Touya grunted. Man, how did he put up with her? "That's correct. Moving on, now you will show me some defensive moves that you already know."  
  
Kagome sighed exasperatedly. "You mean, show you the practice moves?" He nodded his head in consent. "Right." She proceeded to show him a high block, low block, and a block for a blow aimed at her center (think, torso). Then, she demonstrated blocks for both of her sides in the same places.  
  
When she looked up directly into Touya's eyes, she noticed he was a little surprised. "Why are you surprised I can do that?" she asked curiously.  
  
He gave a soft chuckle. "As far as I know, you haven't practiced with any type of weapon for over 2 years. Most demons I know forget something if they don't practice it for that long."  
  
"It's been 3 years, and I practiced for a while before I got bored when you froze me to the rock."  
  
"Okay, well then would you like to spar? A half-spar, I guess, to practice your defensive skills primarily. I don't want you to attack, just parry all of mine." The ice master formed another sword, only this one was an extension of his arm, and it didn't look like a katana. It was thicker, looking heavier than a katana should be. After a couple of swings to get the feel for it, Touya spoke. "Are you ready?"  
  
Kagome nodded, getting into a defensive stance she thought she had forgotten. It was still pretty clear, though.  
  
Touya came in fast and hard, knowing Kagome would be able to handle it. He struck high, then immediately went low, as she gracefully stopped each of the blows from landing. He then came in from the left side, aiming as if to split open her stomach, but as she went to parry, changed direction and aimed for her ankles. Kagome looked surprised, but she managed to block it, just barely. Right before she had completely recovered from the last shot, he lifted his sword and brought the point up to her throat, close enough that if she moved, her skin would be pierced.  
  
"You must never be surprised by anything; always be on the ready. The last attack could have meant your life." He said, rubbing it in and reminding Kagome at the same time. She ground her teeth to refrain from saying a rude comment. Too late!  
  
"I'd like to see YOU do any better when you haven't fought anyone in almost 4 years, plus you had just refreshed your memory of the blocks. It doesn't matter how good I USED to be, because this is the first time I've even TOUCHED a katana in more than 3 years!" She said it all while not moving a muscle, as Touya's larger sword was still against her neck.  
  
Touya just smirked in reply. "And you expect I would refrain from using a sword for that long? Really, Kagome, your knowledge of me must have slipped."  
  
"Oh, but I remember more than you probably want me to. Do you recall the time when we were climbing random trees..." She was cut off by a furious reproachful glare from her good friend, the ice master.  
  
"That has nothing to do with now! What has happened has happened, and it does not need to be brought forward into the present!"  
  
"Aw, why not? It was so funny to see you stuck in a tree!"  
  
"Didn't I tell you to be quiet???"  
  
"Yes, but I don't have to listen to you if I don't want to!"  
  
"I wouldn't be saying that if I were you. After all, all I have to do is move my hand slightly and I could kill you." Touya looked forward to witnessing Kagome's reaction. Oh, how he loved to tease her!  
  
Without missing a beat, Kagome replied, "So? If you kill me, you would never forgive yourself for killing your first real friend."  
  
Damn. That girl is good. He smiled. "That is true. Unfortunately, you know me all too well."  
  
"How is that unfortunate? If we were ever in a battle, I would probably be able to predict your moves so I could center my own around them."  
  
His smile turned into a smirk. "Right, but I don't plan on you being in any battles."  
  
"Geez! What is with this overprotective brother thing that's going on with you now, huh?" Kagome started tapping her foot on the ground impatiently.  
  
"I have just now found you after ten years, and you got attacked by a demon for no apparent reason. Why SHOULDN'T I be acting like an overprotective brother, hm?" Answer a question with a question; it usually works.  
  
"Whatever, you still don't have to keep me away from fights. I mean, I'm a grown girl, and I can handle it. Besides, I've seen enough fights already in my lifetime to not be scared or anything." Oops, I wasn't supposed to say that...  
  
But Touya caught her mistake. "What exactly do you mean you've been in enough fights to not be scared?"  
  
Kagome began looking nervous. "Um, well, would you believe that I have participated in several tournaments?"  
  
"Nope, not a chance."  
  
(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)  
  
Kagome: Please remember to VOTE!!!  
  
Kurama: Yes, I am dying to know once and for all whether or not I am worthy of being paired with Kagome.  
  
Hiei: I don't care really about being paired with her. All this is to me is an opportunity to beat the fox.  
  
Kagome: Well, I feel really loved...  
  
Kurama: It's all right, Kagome. Hiei is always like that.  
  
Kagome: Right, well like I said, PLEASE VOTE!!!!! 


	12. Chapter 12

Star: What is UP, homies!  
  
Scythe: And what is up with your new vocabulary, hm?  
  
Star: Psh! You wouldn't get it if I told you anyways...  
  
Scythe: (cackles)(throws energy ball at Star)  
  
Star: WAHHHH!!! (hides behind Hiei)  
  
Hiei: Baka ningen, get away from me.  
  
Star: O.o;;; What are YOU talking about? I'm a full-blooded cat demon!  
  
Hiei: Explain.  
  
Star: NO WAY!!! I DON'T HAVE TO!!!!  
  
Scythe: (eating popcorn) This might turn into a fight... How fun! Oh yeah, and there's a warning on this chapter: slight angst. This one and the next one I think.  
  
(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)  
  
FINAL TALLY!!!  
  
Hiei: 52 Kurama: 56  
  
REMEMBER: NO MORE VOTES FROM NOW ON! THEY WILL GO TO WASTE!!!  
  
Yes, and for those of you who are Hiei fans out there, please keep reading! You almost had the vote in the bag! I've got another fic coming out but I'll tell you all about that later!  
  
(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)  
  
Chapter 12  
  
(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)  
  
LAST TIME:  
Kagome began looking nervous. "Um, well, would you believe that I have participated in several tournaments?"  
  
"Nope, not a chance."  
  
(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)  
  
She sighed heavily in defeat. "Fine." She seemed to be examining in her head whether she should tell him the truth or not. He would find out eventually anyways, so why not? "Well, let's just say that I am in possession of a very important, and potentially dangerous, artifact. I am its protector. I have fought many demons since I found out."  
  
Touya shook his head, withdrawing his ice blade from its position on Kagome's neck. "And what artifact exactly are you talking about? And also, is this why the demon attacked you?" Kagome was hesitating; she was going to attempt a lie, or a half-truth. Noticing this, he said, "Don't bother with a lie. Tell me the truth right now or I WILL keep you from all of our other fights."  
  
Darn Touya and his threats! "I guard the Shikon no Tama. And no, it shouldn't be why the demon attacked me, because you are the only person who knows now!"  
  
"So you have not had it all your life. When did you receive the duty, then?"  
  
She scowled. "I received it when my sensei passed away, at the hands of demons." Just thinking about it almost made her cry. She was holding back the tears that threatened to spill over and wet her face. That had been three years ago, and the reason why she had ceased to practice with the katana. It reminded her too much of her old sensei. Too much...  
  
Touya's demonic senses didn't fail to notice the change in her, so his expression automatically softened. Kagome had never been one to cry, even when bullies picked on her. For her to be holding back tears, to just have tears to hold back at all, told him that she had experienced a great sadness. She must have loved her teacher very much, for she didn't even cry over her lost parents back when she was little.  
  
Kagome's eyes clouded over, and she seemed to be remembering something.  
  
=Flashback=  
A large horde of demons had appeared in the sky over the shrine where she was currently living. The priestess had adopted her so that their training could be done in secret. All Kagome felt at that time was the need to go and protect her sensei, but she knew that if she did her life would probably end there too. Someone needs to always be there for the jewel, otherwise it will turn corrupt. That was the fist lesson she had been taught.  
  
She ran back into the main shrine building, calling out for her master. Sensei had said that if a group of demons ever attacked, Kagome should come get the jewel from her protection and run. Run for her life and not stay behind to worry over her master. When the time came, she needed to protect herself for the jewel. The whole world could DIE; all the humans (and possibly some kinds of demons) could become extinct, if Kagome made one wrong decision concerning the jewel or her own life.  
  
Kagome finally found her sensei behind the main building, tending the plants. Well, she WAS tending the plants; after seeing the demons come, she had drawn her katana from its sheath tied around her waist, crouching in a very guarded defensive position.  
  
"Kagome," her voice said. "Come get the jewel quickly. Run away, away from the demons, or they will kill you." Her voice was calm considering the situation they were currently in, but there was definitely fear in the tone as well. She reached into the pocket of her miko robes and pulled out the Shikon jewel, on its usual necklace. (Hey, have any of you ever wondered how the heck the jewel stays on Kagome's necklace? LOL, did she like poke a hole in it? Just something to think about...)  
  
When it was tossed, Kagome caught and put it around her own neck before the demon that had just whizzed by could. "Kagome, take it and go!" the woman commanded.  
  
Kagome's eyes were tearing already. "B-but I can't just leave you!"  
  
"Yes, you can. Believe it or not, you can. I do not look forward to leaving you either, but it must be done for the sake of the entire world." Her eyes were pleading now; it was one thing for her to die, yet another for her young student to. Her daughter...  
  
Kagome looked down, the tears falling freely from her eyes in a rain of sparkles. "Good-bye!" she sobbed out, before leaving her beloved family, the only family she had ever had. Immediately, she raced away, not caring where she was headed. Unconsciously, her bare feet gently carried her toward the tall shrine steps, where she continued on to the forest, so she could cry out her sorrows before beginning her life anew.  
  
She was halfway down the steps: so close! She had almost made it before one of the numerous youkai realized her plan and chased after her. That demon appeared before her now, blocking her path. Unbeknownst to Kagome, he was the leader of the horde and had commanded them to kill the elder miko before following.  
  
"Kukuku," he chuckled softly, watching the tiny droplets of water falling from her soft blue-gray orbs through his cold, brown ones. She looked so lost, so alone... Maybe he could have some 'fun' with her before he killed her and used the Shikon for his own purposes.  
  
Kagome looked up, and her eyes hardened. "How could you do this?" she wailed, trying to stop the tears so she could see clearly. "All for power... You demons are despicable." 'Well, that's not entirely true, but I can't be reminded of that right now.'  
  
The strange demon attempted to act sympathetic. Betraying her would maximize the evil force the jewel would gain from her death. "Come now, girl. I shall take your fears away. You can be happy again." He extended his arms to her as if to embrace her.  
  
Her sudden anger threatened to take over, but with extreme difficulty despite her training, Kagome succeeded in staying in calm. In result, her eyes became dry, but they still looked sad, and the tears were still there waiting until the time came to let them plummet to the ground.  
  
For the first time, Kagome saw the demon clearly. He had long, dark hair that waved gracefully down past his waist, and a handsome face. But those eyes: those cold, menacing, brown eyes. Though most might believe them normal, Kagome knew better. She KNEW the malice that lay deep within them, for all to see who dared look. He seemed to be dressed as a lord might, all the cloth rather dark: navy, brown, with some hints of lighter colors mixed in. He repulsed her.  
  
"What do you want?" she bit out hoarsely.  
  
"I want nothing more than to comfort you in your time of need." He was lying through his teeth, and Kagome knew that also. He took a step towards her, and in return, Kagome took a step away.  
  
"You repulse me," she stated bluntly, with no emotion, voicing her frantic thoughts.  
  
"Either way, I shall get what I desire. In this case, that would mean you, and the Shikon of course." He rushed forward, fully expecting to receive nothing but the tangy scent of human blood and new power.  
  
But she blocked. She defended herself with a quick unsheathing of her katana, nearly slicing his hand off in the process.  
  
"A feisty one, are we? No matter, it will do you no good." He changed his direction, and began circling around her slowly, peering at her tense form. Her garb consisted of the traditional red and white, miko-in-training robes. It was no surprise, for her power was small, weak compared to her sensei. Her sensei... He smirked. "Your sensei is dead you know. She died for nothing, to save you, but it was in vain. For you shall die also," he taunted.  
  
The demon's rich, low voice speaking so rudely about her sensei sent her already strained control overboard. With a sudden fierceness most demons never knew, and never wanted to know for that matter, she had dropped her katana to the ground and whipped to face him, her miko energy flaring around her body in waves, her eyes glowing a soft pink.  
  
"Don't you DARE speak of my master that way; she is more honorable than you, and stronger too. If it hadn't been for your horde of demons, you would already be killed, slain along with the rest of them. It took YOU several thousands of demons to take on a single woman, while she allowed her family to escape. Her sacrifice will not be in vain, I assure you. I will not lose so easily as her, especially when I have something to get revenge for. That happens to be you, you sick bastard."  
  
With that, Kagome's newfound strength flared and enveloped the entire mountainside in a bright, pink light. The only harm it did was directed at the demons, killing those few who had survived the bout against her master, and severely damaging the evil demon who dared to cause such heartache.  
  
The demon was surprised that such a small, frail girl could harbor such a magnitude of power, particularly at such a young age. It was almost as if multiple purifying arrows had been shot through his body, ripping him apart, piece-by-piece. But, with the last of his strength, he transported himself away from the hazard this girl posed, preserving his life for the future.  
  
Yes, the future. He would exact his own revenge on this girl in the future, when he shall meet her again.  
  
Kagome just stood there, even after the bright light faded, the tears once again pouring from her half-closed eyes. She slipped to her knees on the ground, and hunched over the spot where her beloved katana laid, the only remembrance she had of her family. Her shoulders began shaking.  
  
She stood quickly, lurching unsteadily on her feet for a moment, katana in hand, before taking off at full speed toward the forest at the base of the lonely mountain, where she could find comfort in the quiet of nature. Once there, and underneath her favorite tree, she curled up in a fetal position, her sobs the only sound for miles in the silent forest, which was so usually brimming with life and noise.  
  
They sensed her sadness. All of the creatures, the plants, the very air, they all sensed her sadness. And in sympathy, they were quiet, each finding their own ways to comfort their broken friend. And so it was, until all of her tears were cried out, and the memory hidden beneath mounds of other thoughts, pushed to the back to never be remembered again. =End Flashback=  
  
Somewhere in the middle of her memory, Kagome's misty eyes cleared somewhat, to reveal a large amount of pain, mixed with great sadness, and flickering flecks of anger. Afterwards, when her eyes no longer held any cloudy nature to them, the tears came.  
  
(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)  
  
Scythe: See, like I said, angst. It's not TOO terrible, though. There's a lot of crying in the next chapter as you probably already guessed...  
  
Star: Well, if you don't like angst I'm sorry! It kind of had to be written or the story wouldn't be quite right.  
  
Hiei: Hn. Fans, Star has another fic called Twist of Fate she would like you to read. It's a vote. Need I say more?  
  
Kurama: Yes, you should say more. How about, the vote starts on the first chapter and Star would really like it if you all read it. Oh, and if it's not out by now then it will be out later this week.  
  
Hiei: What I meant was, vote for me and let me beat the fox. Despite the fact I would have to be paired with Kagome, it would be well worth the victory.  
  
Kagome: (eye twitches) Care to repeat that, Katana-Man?  
  
Hiei: Hn. Yes, it would be worth the victory even if I had to be paired with you.  
  
Kagome: Oh, you are SO going to pay for that...  
  
Star: I guess I'll be entertained if they fight before next update! 


	13. Chapter 13

Star: Yo, what is UP?!?  
  
Scythe: KILL HER!!!!  
  
Star: Why, exactly?  
  
Scythe: Because of that stupid vacation you are taking.  
  
Star: But it's going to be so much FUN!  
  
Scythe: But will you update?  
  
Star: ...  
  
Scythe: That answers my question well enough.  
  
Star: Please readers! I am so sorry!  
  
Readers: (start throwing rotten fruit at Star and Scythe)  
  
Scythe: Hey, it's not my idea. Kill her. (points to Star)  
  
Star: Now, now, no need to get violent... (laughs nervously)  
  
Hiei: DRAGON OF THE DARKNESS FLAME!!!  
  
Star: EEEEK!!! (hides in an everything-proof closet...complete with chains)  
  
Scythe: O.o;;; When did he get here?  
  
(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)  
  
Chapter 13  
  
(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)  
  
LAST TIME:  
Somewhere in the middle of her memory, Kagome's misty eyes cleared somewhat, to reveal a large amount of pain, mixed with great sadness, and flickering flecks of anger. Afterwards, when her eyes no longer held any cloudy nature to them, the tears came.  
  
(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)  
  
At first, they were silent, streaming down her cheeks in small waves. But soon, they quickened their pace, and her small body began to shake. She crossed the small distance to where Touya stood, gazing worriedly at his friend for some understanding of what had happened. When she moved to him, burrowing her face in his firm chest and holding her fisted hands to her eyes, he readily wrapped his arms around her. Her tears made way to sobs, and she cried like she hadn't done for years. Every now and then, she let out a strangled sound, and her form continued to shake.  
  
Only one thing registered in Touya's mind throughout this: Kagome was sad, and in pain. The girl he thought of as his sister... was in pain. He felt the urge to kill whoever had dared to hurt his family, as any demon rightfully would.  
  
He gently rubbed her back in a soothing manner. He knew nothing he could do would help the anguish she was feeling, but he could try. It might make her feel better, in the long run. A growl emitted from his chest, thinking of all the possibilities that may have happened to make her be this way, but Kagome didn't notice. All she noticed was the tears she had held back for so long, falling down her face and dripping on Touya's chest, and that, surprisingly, she hadn't lost her entire family.  
  
Sensei was not the only one, and she never had BEEN the only one; Touya, the ice master, had become as much of a brother as she had ever had, back when they were so young. She took comfort in his presence, and strangely enough, strength. She needed all the help she could get right now.  
  
Kagome's sobbing had still not subsided much, so Touya felt that she would indeed be better off if they went back to the hotel, or maybe just a place more secluded than this small lake, further into the woods perhaps.  
  
So, he collected her into his arms and headed off to find such a place. She was still crying, though not QUITE as hard as before, and that was enough to attract some attention as he ran into the small number of demons that traveled this part of the island. When they turned to stare at the passing demon that just happened to have a crying human girl in his arms, he snarled at them angrily. He just wanted left alone; that was all Kagome needed as well, to be left alone.  
  
He finally found an area near a beach on the edge of the island, with a high cliff he could take her to so she could be alone, away from all life but his own. He jumped up to it and settled on a smooth boulder, setting a half-asleep Kagome down on the rock beside him, her head still resting on his chest.  
  
Her eyes slowly started to drift downwards, as her mind prepared for a deep and much welcomed sleep. It was the one thing that could relieve her of the emotional sting that enveloped her tired mind, and so she embraced it.  
  
Touya listened as his 'sister's' breathing evened out, idly watching her visage as it relaxed. His sister... She better come out of this all right or someone would pay dearly. A life will be taken in the near future, of that he was sure.  
  
(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)  
  
They sat there like that for who knows how long, until the rays of the afternoon sun darkened to that of the evening's, and Kagome began to stir a little. The tears had long since disappeared, but grief was evident in the poor girl's frown and cobalt eyes.  
  
Her eyes opened sleepily, and she yawned slightly, in a way that made the 'stoic' Ice Master produce a light chuckle. Trying to blink the sleep from her eyes, Kagome groggily spoke the words, "What time is it, Touya?" She looked around her, still not quite comprehending anything, before continuing. "And why are we up on the very tall cliff of some mountain overlooking a beach?"  
  
"That's a lot of words for someone who just woke up," Touya observed. His expression softened. "Kagome, you've been crying for hours now." He paused. "Would you care to tell me what happened? It may help relieve the burden of whatever it is you are carrying."  
  
The miko looked at him thoughtfully. "I suppose so..." Her voice was soft, as if she really weren't that sure herself. Her head gave a short, decisive bob and she persisted her statement with more strength to her tone. A pained look crossed her features, and she said, emotionlessly, "Sensei died. She died at the hands of a demon who wanted nothing more than to gain the power of the Shikon. She died, allowing me, her only family, to escape. The demon came after me though, came after me to retrieve the jewel in what he thought of as an easy fight. But he didn't succeed."  
  
She pressed a hand firmly to her side, which was beginning to glow a faint pink through her white training shirt; as soon as it had appeared, it subsided. Touya's eyes widened in wonder, pondering why the jewel would be inside her body.  
  
Kagome's brow furrowed with her concentration. "I don't know what happened to him. All I remember is bright flash of light when my anger got out of control, and then his presence suddenly disappeared, like he had never been there."  
  
"It sounds like you killed him," said Touya wisely.  
  
"No, I don't think so. The other demons I know for sure died, but I can't seem to recall the distinct feeling of that guy's death."  
  
"Other demons?" he prompted worriedly.  
  
"Yes, there was a huge horde, thousands of them. They all followed the guy who confronted me."  
  
"Oh." Gods, what he wouldn't do to kill whoever brought all of this on, supposing he wasn't already dead. Any demon who could have survived the power of a miko must be very strong indeed, a worthy opponent for the truly courageous.  
  
"Kagome, I think it's time we go back. They must be wondering where we are."  
  
She answered with a slight nod, before looking at him with pleading eyes.  
  
"Kagome," he began suspiciously. "What is it you want?"  
  
"Oh, nothing. It's just I can't get down from here without some help," she said, happily and innocently.  
  
Touya groaned; the one thing Kagome had always loved since they were kids was piggyback rides. He was ALWAYS the one to give them to her, it seemed. Oh well, it's not like she was asking him to take her flying somewhere. Although, she will probably get around to asking Jin for that...  
  
"Climb on." She squealed merrily and jumped on his back. For the moment, her sadness was forgotten, but it still showed near the surface of her eyes.  
  
With a sigh, and a roll of his eyes, Touya jumped down the 30 or 40 feet to the beach, securely landing with no sound at all. "Now, can you walk the rest of the way back, or will you be needing my help?" His teasing manner was actually quite annoying to those who are not immune to that sort of thing. It was a very good thing Kagome was one of those lucky few that were.  
  
"I'll be fine. Um, someone's coming. It feels familiar..." She drummed her fingers on her chin. Touya had noticed the same thing, but he hadn't wanted to unnecessarily scare Kagome, especially after the day SHE had had. "No matter, we can still start on our way back."  
  
Kagome began taking purposeful strides in the direction of the woods, but was stopped in her tracks as a gust of wind rushed by her, successfully scratching her cheek so that a tiny drop of blood trickled out of an equally tiny, and painless, cut. "Oh!" she exclaimed, surprised, as she felt the blood.  
  
"Hn. Looks like I'll need to be training my arm some. It doesn't seem to want to obey," said a voice from behind her. When she turned to look, she saw the short youkai from earlier. She smiled at him. Sure, they argued, but she didn't really see him as harmful. Obviously he was strong, and that didn't seem to faze her in the least, for some odd reason.  
  
"Hello. And what might you be talking about, Mr. Katana?" Kagome looked at him serenely, hoping he'd take the bait and argue with her. She felt the need to argue with someone after that little crying bout...  
  
"Do NOT call me Mr. Katana, ningen," he growled out softly.  
  
"Okay then, Hiei. What's wrong with your arm?" she asked cheerfully, staring curiously at his black and bloody arm.  
  
"Hn. If you must know, I have discovered a new technique."  
  
"And that makes you arm bleed, why, exactly?" she prodded.  
  
Hiei scowled. "It wouldn't obey when I gave it a specific command, so it had to be punished." (That's an actual quote too...) Why the heck is he sharing information so liberally with her? Maybe it's because she has an aura similar to that of Yukina's... Wait, aura? Humans don't have auras, except for a select few with exceptionally high spirit energy. Strange, she does not feel strong... Sure, she's smarter than his two human partners, but still, that has nothing to do with it.  
  
"Onna, why do you have an aura?" Blunt as ever, he questioned her dully.  
  
Kagome looked simply confused. "What? I have an aura? Really?" She turned to speak to Touya. "Touya, since when do I have an aura? I don't ever remember having one..."  
  
Touya studied her carefully. "Kagome, I don't believe I noticed what it was before, but yes, you do indeed have an aura." You could almost hear the click in his brain signifying he had an idea. "Whatever it was I thought I was feeling, I didn't feel it until after the..." Here, he paused, looking to Kagome to see if it was all right to mention it. Her eyes told him not to. "...it glowed," he finished.  
  
Kagome's eyes widened in realization. "Y-you mean?! Oh no! This is NOT good, this is really not good..."  
  
(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)  
  
Star: Yo, all! It's a cute little cliffie! I wonder what will happen next...  
  
Scythe: YOU FREAKING DON'T KNOW??? STAR, I AM GOING TO KILL YOU LONG BEFORE HIEI GETS HIS HANDS ON YA!  
  
Hiei: Hn. I doubt that.  
  
Kurama: Star, you'd better get back in your closet. You are out in the open and completely vulnerable.  
  
Star: I am? OOPSIES!!!! (goes back into closet)  
  
Hiei: (eye twitches) Why did you have to tell her?  
  
Kurama: Because, I have not gotten the fluff I deserve with Kagome yet.  
  
Star's Voice: Um, actually I was planning on some fluff happening this time, but it didn't really work out. I found my hands taking me somewhere different. Sorry.  
  
Hiei: Hn. That's fine. All I ask for is a good reason to kill you and having Kagome call me Mr. Katana is good enough for me.  
  
Kagome: (pops out of nowhere) When did I call you that, again?  
  
Hiei: This chapter.  
  
Star's Voice: Hey, where the heck did Scythe and Kurama go?  
  
-With Scythe and Kurama-  
  
Scythe: (panting) Hah! My whip skills are better than yours are!  
  
Kurama: (also panting) I must disagree. I believe we may be evenly matched.  
  
Scythe: (bows) Why thanks so much!  
  
(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)  
  
IMPORTANT NOTE: Some idiot reported my newest story, Twist Of Fate, for no apparent reason, and it was deleted from ff.net. I am sorry to those of you who may have been looking for it, because I had barely gotten it posted before it happened. I've got to change a few things to prevent that happening to either of my other fics, and one of those things is REPLIES TO REVIEWS. There will be no more, unless a question is asked. (I'm deleting all my previous replies as I edit, too.) Feel free to ask any questions you want, because if I can answer it then I will in the next chapter that is updated. The reason for this is because it is considered interaction with the readers, and it's supposedly against the rules. Now, I checked the rules, and interaction is only a violation if you make an entry on the story for JUST that, and not an actual chapter. (The supposed "infraction" that I got kept me from updating until now, too.)  
  
I'm going to ask you all for something, and you may or may not take it seriously. It would be a good thing to warn anyone who writes replies to their reviews on their chapters that they shouldn't do that. Some people are just big jerks and report the "interaction" that is going on there, and I strongly believe that the people running ff.net don't check the story they are deleting before they do it. They just do it.  
  
Sorry about that, but it had to be said! Love you all for reviewing!!! (NOT IN THAT WAY) So thanks SO much!  
  
Oh yeah, and I'm having a bit of writer's block on Youkai Hunt... I apologize if it's not updated to those of you who are reading it! 


	14. Chapter 14

Star: Hey! This is a little something I'd like to call 'Ode to Chocolate...And Other People Who Asked Me A Certain Little Question'.  
  
"WHERE'S THE FLUFF??? I GOT THE FLUFF!!! It's in chapter 15..."  
  
Scythe: That was pitiful.  
  
Star: (sweat drop) Where's the good in having a muse if all they do is argue and junk like that...  
  
Scythe: Well, I've got an answer for you! This one goes out to Blade of Fire.  
  
"Baka ningen just HAD to report my story, didn't he? But I have a little secret... It's called repost!" (Anime happy eyes)  
  
Star: And that was worse than mine was.  
  
(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)  
  
Chapter 14  
  
(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)  
  
LAST TIME: Here, he paused, looking to Kagome to see if it was all right to mention it. Her eyes told him not to. "...it glowed," he finished.  
  
Kagome's eyes widened in realization. "Y-you mean?! Oh no! This is NOT good, this is really not good..."  
  
(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)  
  
"Kagome?" Touya asked worriedly, searching her eyes for some explanation.  
  
"Touya, not here. Not now. I...I'll tell you later," Kagome said to him, glancing nervously at the nearby fire demon. Those simple glances were enough to show the ice master that she didn't quite trust Hiei yet. Well, neither did he, so he couldn't be saying anything about that...  
  
"Fine," Touya answered shortly. Turning to Hiei, he apologized, "We must take our leave." With that, he picked the now pale Kagome up bridal style and rushed away from the beach, heading where he hoped there would be no one to overhear his and Kagome's conversation.  
  
"Will you put me down, you baka youkai?!?" was faintly heard coming from the young ningen's mouth as they disappeared from view, and Hiei's enhanced senses.  
  
'Interesting...' Hiei mused as he commenced training, particularly his arm. 'The fox would be fascinated in something like this.' Deeming the occurrence of no higher importance than his own training, he continued on, mulling over the newfound information.  
  
(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)  
  
Touya stopped, Kagome still held in his arms, this time in a grassy field in the middle of the woods. If he were guessing right, it was about directly across the island from the beach they had previously been on. There should be no threat of passing youkai to overhear what was said.  
  
When he finally put Kagome down, she glared at him defiantly, crossing her arms. "Because there was something very important that needed to be seen to, I will let you slide on not putting me down. But be warned, next time I will NOT be so kind as to let you off so easily." She narrowed her eyes. "I despise being carried in any way, I'll have you know."  
  
"Fine, fine, just tell me what you meant by 'this is NOT good' right this instant before our chance at solitude is ruined," he replied impatiently. It was rather irksome that there was no good spot to find peace on this island! There were always stupid demons around... (Heh, go figure, you're in Makai, the DEMON world.)  
  
"All right, but you had better listen well, because I'm not entirely sure what all is going on, and it could put both of us in danger," the miko warned. At seeing Touya nod in the affirmative that he understood, she continued.  
  
"Well, see, when that horde of demons attacked my sensei and I at the shrine, that was when I came in possession of the Shikon no Tama. I didn't have it before then; the whole thing was a setup to get the Jewel into the hands of a supposedly less capable miko. That way, it would be much easier for the leader of the demons to become stronger. When I slew the remaining youkai and at least banished their leader, the Shikon basically combined with my body. I wasn't fully aware of it at the time, because as you know I was an emotional wreck. Um, I'm pretty sure that I might have had an aura in the short period of time when I actually had it in my possession, because of the imminent need to keep the Jewel purified. The only plausible thing I can think of for why it is back, is that the Jewel is trying to get out of my body. I do not believe it and I are fully...together...anymore."  
  
"And what would cause it to separate from you?" asked a curious ice master.  
  
"Actually, I am not entirely sure. The jewel is most likely becoming active again after being in a sort of dormant state for a few years. The main problem is, well, that probably means there's a very strong demon that knows who has it, and wants the Shikon for himself."  
  
"Why is that such a big problem? I know who has it," stated Touya calmly.  
  
"Yes, but you don't have an urge to use it. The thing that worries me is that there's only two people who know of it, both of them demons, and one of them is you," Kagome answered gravely.  
  
"And the other demon would be...?" he prompted.  
  
"The one who attacked on that fateful day."  
  
"I see." It was all beginning to make sense now. Then it struck him. "Kagome, do you realize how much danger you're in?" Seeing as how she appeared startled, she didn't know, so Touya decided to enlighten her. "If something, or more importantly someONE, activated the Shikon, a couple of things are going to happen. One: it is going to come out into the open sometime soon, and two: someone will try and take it. They'll HURT you to get it."  
  
"Oh, is that all? Don't worry, I can take care of myself," she stated confidently.  
  
Touya looked at her warningly. "One word: YOUKAI. If a higher-level youkai came after you, how long would you last? Not very long, especially if they have particular interest in something belonging to you."  
  
"Well, I have one word for YOU: miko. I'm a miko, therefore I would just purify them. Simple as that!"  
  
"You don't understand! This tournament attracts the strongest of demons. Many of them are only spectators, but others actually participate in the fights. Think about it, would you stand a chance against Lord Sesshomaru of the Western Lands in Makai?"  
  
Kagome had a very blank look on her face. "Who's that?"  
  
Touya fell anime-style. "You mean you don't recognize the name and title of one of the strongest demons in the entire Makai? Oh yeah, I keep forgetting you didn't grow up in Makai all your life."  
  
Now it was Kagome's turn to fall anime-style. "Are you serious? How can you forget I'm human so easily???"  
  
"I have absolutely no idea," was the reply of the 'stoic' ice master as he rubbed the back of his head.  
  
The miko sweat dropped. "Eh, Touya, did you hit your head or something in today's match?"  
  
"Nope! Didn't even get to fight! Our team won the first three matches before my turn. Bakken didn't get to fight either, actually."  
  
"Well, okay." She turned away from him and examined their area. The grasses were tall once you left the edge of the woods, about a foot high in most places. It was calm, and peaceful, a kind of mood Kagome would very much like to be in.  
  
"Hey Touya, can I stay out here for a while? I don't really feel like going back to civilization just yet," she asked, turning back to him.  
  
"I suppose so," he agreed doubtfully. "But promise you'll come right back if you run into trouble?"  
  
"Promise," Kagome said happily. She caught the look he was sending her, which clearly said, 'Be careful or you'll regret it.' "Don't worry! I'll be fine! Really!" That said, she walked out a ways into the field and plopped down on her back, watching as her 'brother' reluctantly left her there alone.  
  
Finally, some peace and quiet...  
  
"Hey lady! Lady!" She heard a young girl's childish voice call. Okay, scratch peace and quiet...  
  
Kagome sat up carefully and scanned for the source of the noise. It didn't take her long; there, maybe 5 feet away, stood a little girl, about the age of 7, bouncing on her little feet and holding a garland of small white flowers. There was another garland, similar to the one she held, already around her neck.  
  
Smiling, Kagome spoke warmly to the child. "Hi! What is it you need?"  
  
"Rin is lost. Can you help Rin find Jakken or Sesshomaru?"  
  
How cute! She talks in third person! Okay, so it's a little strange, but whatever...  
  
"Sure, Rin. Where did you last see them?"  
  
"Somewhere that direction," Rin replied, and pointed. Kagome sighed; the hotel was in that general direction.  
  
"Right, well let's go then." She started to leave, but stopped in her tracks when a sudden thought hit her. "Would you like a piggyback ride?"  
  
The child's face instantly brightened. "Yes! Rin would love one!"  
  
Kagome laughed as she kneeled down and allowed the lass to climb onto her back. "As long as you can find someone willing to give you one, piggyback rides are fun! Don't you ever forget that, okay? I still enjoy them when I can."  
  
"Rin promises she will never ever forget," Rin said solemnly. Then a fit of giggles caught her and she rested her head on Kagome's shoulder to help steady herself.  
  
Suddenly, a dark figure dashed out of the nearby trees and went to attack the girls. Rin screamed as Kagome jumped backwards out of harm's way. 'Demon,' she thought. "Shh, Rin, it's okay. Don't worry, I'll keep you safe." While she said it, Kagome switched the juvenile from her back into the safety of her arms.  
  
Never taking her eyes off the shadow, the miko asked it, "Who are you?"  
  
The figure stepped out of the dark place below the trees into the waning sunlight. It was revealed that he was some kind of cat demon; a tiger, maybe. "Never mind that. My name does not concern a lowly human such as yourself. Hand over the Shikon." His striped tail flicked idly and Kagome's eyes darted to it before returning to the face of the demon.  
  
"Normally, I like animals of all kinds, but I don't think I like you. Now, please leave us alone." Poor Rin just sat there and buried her face in Kagome's shoulder while Kagome rubbed soothing circles on her back.  
  
"I'll take that a no then. Well that's too bad. It'll make this all the more fun though, since you won't cooperate." With no notice, he rushed in again. Kagome barely had time to block, and even then all she could do was turn so Rin wouldn't get hit. She braced herself for impact.  
  
But it never came. Instead, she felt the white, belt-like sash around her waist slip away and she watched it fall to the ground. That had only been aimed at the sash, not at her. Was he toying with her?  
  
Without missing a beat, the tiger rebounded and came in for another assault. This time, Kagome was able to fully dodge it as she leapt out of the way and set her charge on the ground.  
  
As she stood back up, she felt the front of her shirt fall open, revealing some of the white material she had wrapped around her chest in replacement of a bra since she would be training. She was doubly glad she had taken the time to do that now, considering she had momentarily forgotten the style of her training uniform: an oversized shirt, only held closed by the sash previously dropped, and loose Capri pants.  
  
No time to worry over the shirt right now though. No, now was the time to worry about protecting Rin.  
  
Here he comes again. This time it was from her side, and she bent over and put her body between the attacker and Rin. She felt as her shirt was ripped from her back, further showing her midriff and shoulders. With a start, Kagome realized what the demon was doing: undressing her slowly, one piece of clothing to the next. If her guess was right, the next stop would be...her makeshift bra!  
  
And there's the attack! This time, she stood as if to face him, in the process leaving the knot on the side of her top completely exposed. Kagome swore she saw him smirk as she did that, most likely no realizing that she did it on purpose.  
  
It all seemed to turn slow motion as she saw his clawed hand reach in to snag the knot. Did he not realize that anyone matching his speed would find that opening and send him into a world of pain? Well, apparently not.  
  
In that one moment when time slowed, Kagome balled her fist and sent the tiniest amount of miko energy into it, directing the fist to solidly connect with the side of his head. The blow sent him flying into the wall of trees, and Kagome jumped after him in a follow-up.  
  
Just as she had almost reached the enemy, Kagome heard a scream of what sounded like pain from behind her. Oh my god, Rin! Quickly, Kagome doubled back, only to find Rin, with a serious wound on her arm, suspended in midair by a giant snake.  
  
She noticed that the snake's fangs glistened with fresh blood. Rin was now unconscious, and upon closer inspection, or as close as one can get to a person hanging from a snake, the cause of her injury was none other than a snake bite, a LARGE snake bite. Next, she checked the snake's humongous eyes. The pupils were slits, like a cat's: venomous.  
  
Kagome cursed openly when she saw that, for of course Rin wouldn't hear. But after about 10 seconds of fowl language and trying to figure out what to do, the hand of the forgotten pervert found itself clamped over the miko's mouth.  
  
"Good job, Sil." The demon was speaking again, this time to the animal. "Put her down now. I need you to hold this one for me." The giant snake complied, and after much struggling Kagome found herself suspended above ground by about a foot via the reptile.  
  
"Let me go!" demanded Kagome.  
  
"Tsk, tsk. I don't think you're in a good position to be saying that. Even if you could kill me, or my snake, you would have the other to deal with afterwards. No, I think you'll just have to hold still while I do this."  
  
"And what exactly are you going to do?" Kagome was unable to keep the fear from her tone.  
  
The guy smirked. "Don't worry, getting the Shikon no Tama out of your body won't be hard if you just tell me where it is."  
  
Kagome's eyes narrowed as she said, "Never," and shot a blast of pure miko energy at him, causing him to disintegrate. In response to the turn of events, the snake bit down on Kagome's right shoulder, making her release a loud scream as the poison entered her body.  
  
(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)  
  
Star: So, how did you all like that little cliffie, huh?  
  
Readers: First you don't update, and then you give us a cliffie? We're gonna kill you!!!  
  
Scythe: Hey, wasn't my idea. Kill her.  
  
Star: You are so very helpful, Scythe. Some muse you are... Hey, at least I made this chapter extra long, okay! So GIVE ME A FREAKING BREAK!!!  
  
Scythe: Knew she would do that.  
  
Star: (All sweet again) And Scythe, about that 'kill her' deal, I say screw it and KILL YOU!!! Scythe: And what are you going to do to me? (Falls into a pit full of venomous snakes) Oh, they're only poisonous snakes! Come on Star, you're losing your touch. (Gets bit) Ow! Hey, what was that for? Baka snake...  
  
Star: Um, do you realize you just got poisoned?  
  
Scythe: No, I didn't. I'm immune to venom! Hehehe... 


	15. Chapter 15

Kagome: I am SO going to kill Star...  
  
Star: Why?  
  
Kagome: You practically killed me last chapter, and I don't even know what's going to happen!  
  
Star: Well, THAT would be the reason you start reading the next chapter!  
  
Scythe: O.O;;; She made a good point for once. THE APOCALYPSE IS COMING!!! (Runs around screaming)  
  
(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)  
  
Chapter 15  
  
(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)  
  
LAST TIME:  
Kagome's eyes narrowed as she said, "Never," and shot a blast of pure miko energy at him, causing him to disintegrate. In response to the turn of events, the snake bit down on Kagome's right shoulder, making her release a loud scream as the poison entered her body.  
  
(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)  
  
Our favorite red-haired kitsune was heading toward an area he thought of as suitable training grounds, when a sharp cry rang through the dusk air. It seemed to be coming from his very destination, so he quickened his pace.  
  
Within seconds, he exited the wood and came into an open field, where he saw the raven-haired girl from earlier that same day under assault by some giant Makai snake. She was struggling violently, but to no avail, for as each time, her strength dwindled a bit more and the coils around her tightened.  
  
Comprehending it all only took a split second as he drew his Rose Whip and swiftly decapitated the reptile, then preceded to help the young woman out of the coils she was trapped in.  
  
"Are you...okay?" Kurama watched as she half stumbled and half crawled over to where a child's body lay, unmoving, in the grass a few feet away.  
  
She didn't answer. Instead, tears streamed down her face as she whispered, "Please...don't die on me, Rin..." Placing her hands over the open shoulder wound, almost to the point they touched, she began to truly concentrate; in result, a soft pink glow enveloped both of them, lingering on Rin's unconscious figure.  
  
Kurama stared, amazed, as the wound closed and the smell of poison dissipated from the child's pure scent, leaving it honestly pure, cleansed, once more.  
  
When Rin's breathing evened out, the woman gave a short, satisfactory nod, then fell over as the venom in her own body began to take effect.  
  
Before he fully understood what was happening, Kurama had caught her and picked her and Rin up in his arms, now all three of them stained with the dark color of dried blood. Kagome, that was her name. He remembered it now.  
  
As he prepared to leave, an angry demon entered the scene. He was a full-blooded dog demon, and dressed in the clothing of a lord's.  
  
Kurama recognized the scent at once: Lord Sesshomaru. This must be the human charge everyone was talking about for him to be so angry.  
  
"What did you do to her?" he growled.  
  
"I did nothing. When I arrived, both humans had been bit by a venomous snake," Kurama replied, calm as ever.  
  
"Then why do I smell no poison in her?" Sesshomaru asked, addressing Rin.  
  
"Because Kagome healed her. Now, if you'll excuse me, Rin is fine but Kagome needs medical attention, and I do not currently have the correct supplies for such a task. I must take her back to my room." He gently handed Rin to the demon lord and turned to leave.  
  
"Halt." The fox stopped; oh yes, he knew better than to disobey a demon lord. "You say she healed Rin?" Kurama nodded stiffly. "Then give her here. I can do much better for her wound than any amount of medicine or herbs could."  
  
Kurama turned back around, relieved he would do something for her. He began to place her on the ground in front of the dog demon, but ceased all movement when he drew a sword from its sheath, holding Kagome almost protectively.  
  
Sesshomaru quirked one silver brow at him. "This is a sword of healing. It will not harm her, and neither will I. After all, she saved the life of my Rin."  
  
The kitsune tenderly placed Kagome on the grass and watched as the lord sliced through her, wincing at the sight, as it revived her from unconsciousness and healed all the wounds, including curing the poison, all in one swift motion. There wasn't a scratch on her; her skin was smooth and perfect just as it had been before.  
  
Kagome sat up groggily. When her memory finally came back to her, she attempted to stand but had to be steadied by the cute redhead next to her. As soon as she regained her balance, the first words out of her mouth were, "Where's Rin? Is she all right?"  
  
The tall silver-haired man she had not quite noticed before asked, obviously amused, "Would you care more about my human charge's life than your own that you wouldn't even say 'thank you'?"  
  
She bowed quickly, and then straightened. "I thank you for saving my life, but IS she okay?"  
  
"Yes, she is fine, thanks to you. I owe you my gratitude."  
  
"Oh, no problem. I'm sorry I couldn't keep her from being injured in the first place, though. It was a stupid mistake on my part for not sensing the snake. She's lost a lot of blood..." Kagome finished quietly. Then she brightened somewhat. "Hey, you don't happen to be Sesshomaru, do you?"  
  
"Yes," he said modestly.  
  
"Good, because that's who Rin said she was looking for when she asked for help." Her face suddenly paled considerably. "Oh my god, you are Lord Sesshomaru, Demon Lord of the Western Lands in Makai!"  
  
"Yes," he said again.  
  
"I apologize for any disrespect I may have shown you, Lord Sesshomaru. I didn't recognize you at first." Kagome bowed deeply in respect for the demon.  
  
"Pay it no heed. I myself have great respect for you, placing a stranger's life above your own," he praised in a dismissive tone.  
  
"If you don't mind my asking, Kagome, what exactly happened here?" interrupted Kurama.  
  
She blinked a couple of times. "Kurama? Sorry, I didn't really notice you there. Wait, I suppose you helped me stand. Hehehe... Um, well," and here her face burned red in anger, "that perverted demon decided I didn't need a shirt on when he killed me!" One could practically see the steam coming out of her ears.  
  
"Calm down," Kurama said, placing a soothing hand on her shoulder; he was pleased to see that she quieted soon after. "Now, tell us what exactly happened."  
  
She told them, leaving out the part about the Shikon no Tama, of course, settling instead for simply leaving no specifics on why he wanted to kill her. "And why did he want to kill you in the first place?" Kurama asked the inevitable question.  
  
It was just too bad Kagome is not the kind of person who is good at lying. Well, not that she did it much or anything, but still. She did have that whole Shikon secret! "Actually, that is confidential and if I tell it could mean my life. So I'm not gonna' tell," was her excellent reply.  
  
"Considering you would have died if not for us, I believe it would not be a terrible thing to tell us. There is no one else here, I assure you," bartered the Lord.  
  
Kurama shot a meaningful glare to the stoic Lord before saying, "It is quite all right for you to keep it from us. It is none of our business, despite how badly we may wish to know. Besides, it is after dark. Should you not head back to the hotel?"  
  
"Uhuh," she concurred quickly. "I've got to get back to Touya! I told him I wouldn't be long, so he's probably worried by now."  
  
"So be it," Sesshomaru said. "We must be going as well." With that, he turned, picked Rin's dozing form up off of the ground behind him, and walked away, disappearing into the trees.  
  
"Right, well I'd best be going. See you!" Just then a chill traveled down Kagome's spine, making her shiver. Why didn't she realize how cold it was tonight? Unexpectedly, she felt something as it was draped over her shoulders: the tattered remains of her shirt. She looked at Kurama as he walked past.  
  
"Coming?" he called over his shoulder.  
  
Kagome shook her head to clear it and went to follow. "Why are you walking me back?"  
  
"I just saved your life, so it would be pointless to allow you to be killed so soon," he joked.  
  
"Fair enough," Kagome replied good-naturedly. She shivered again. This time, though, Kurama came over and wrapped one arm around her. Kagome blushed, embarrassed, but at the same time leaned into the needed warmth. Gosh darn it the nights here are COLD!  
  
Although Shuichi would have blushed, the part that was still Youko in him relished in the feel of her body against his, so, no go on that blushing. Darn! 'Besides, there is a good reason to be holding her. She's cold...' he told himself.  
  
(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)  
  
Star: Alright, alright, alright... See, there's some fluff, just like I promised! All nice and cute!  
  
Kat: If you like those types of things...  
  
Scythe: Hey, we are in the same boat here, Kat! We BOTH have to work with a crazy authoress, not to mention neither of us are very big fans of fluff!  
  
Star: I CAN HEAR YOU GUYS!! Ahem, well, anyways, have you guys met Kat? No, guess not, so I'll introduce you. Kat is my new muse, since Scythe wasn't doing a very good job in that department.  
  
Scythe: HEY!  
  
Kat: A lot of good it did bringing me in, too. Now there's just one more person who enjoys violence and could care less about fluff.  
  
Star: But I'm still the authoress! Therefore I have total control! So, THERE WILL BE FLUFF!!  
  
Kat: Aye, aye, captain! (Salutes)  
  
Scythe: (Smacks forehead) Don't do that... 


	16. Chapter 16

Kat: Hi!! Great of you guys to show up for some Star-bashing!  
  
Star: HEY! Not fair!  
  
Scythe: I don't see the problem.  
  
Star: Well of course YOU wouldn't!  
  
Scythe: True.  
  
Kat: Now, now, come on guys! Don't be fighting! (Whispers to audience) Send me some ideas for Star-bashing, okay? Seriously, it's lots of fun!  
  
Star: I HEARD THAT!!  
  
Kat: Well now, that's just too bad! (Still looks really hyper/happy)  
  
Scythe: I'm going to...go somewhere. Yeah, that's it, go somewhere. Bye!  
  
Star: And WHERE do you think you are going?  
  
Scythe: Don't worry! I'm going to escape from the fluff. I'll be back at the end of the chapter! See y'all later!  
  
Star: Honestly, what is so bad about fluff?  
  
Kat: Well, first there's—  
  
Star: Nuh uh, don't start with me!  
  
Kat: But then there's—  
  
Star: NO!! BAD WOLF/FOX THINGY!!!  
  
Kat: It's called a demon. Repeat after me: DEMON.  
  
Star: Demon. Hey! How did you make me do that?  
  
Kat: I don't know WHAT you are talking about...  
  
(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)  
  
Chapter 16  
  
(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)  
  
LAST TIME:  
Although Shuichi would have blushed, the part that was still Youko in him relished in the feel of her body against his, so, no go on that blushing. Darn! 'Besides, there is a good reason to be holding her. She's cold...' he told himself.  
  
(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)  
  
They walked on like that the rest of the way to the hotel, although both could have traveled faster.  
  
During the long walk, Kagome's thoughts centered on why Kurama had saved her. 'I mean, he's a demon, right? And I'm only human, so why would he...?'  
  
The bright lights emitting from the hotel brought Kagome out of her train of thought as she realized exactly how late she was. "Touya is SO going to kill me..." she muttered.  
  
Kurama, being a demon and all, heard her statement and asked, "For what reason would he kill you?" His tone was amused.  
  
Kagome blushed again at his forgotten proximity, but quickly got over it and began twiddling with her fingers as she spoke. "Well, when he left me just before sunset, I told him I wouldn't be long. Um, it's been like an hour or longer by now..."  
  
"If you are so worried about getting in trouble, I shall walk you to your room and explain—"  
  
"No!" Kagome said a bit loudly and she pushed away from her heat source. She shivered again from the cold and closed the space between them again as Kurama rewrapped his arm around her shoulders. "What I mean is, if he knew what really happened then he wouldn't let me out of his sight for a second! Gah, my life is so screwed right now..."  
  
Kurama released her as they reached the hotel lobby. "Is there anything I can do to help?" Many of the male demons in the vicinity were directing stares in Kagome's direction. It was then that Kurama realized that though she was wearing her training shirt, or what was left of it, the sash was still missing, thus leaving the front hanging open, which revealed her stomach and the wrap around her chest. There was one easy way to stop the stares; Kurama growled at them rather loudly.  
  
Kagome caught the sound and looked at him strangely. Shrugging it off, she said, "There's really nothing you could do. He'll find out eventually." Her face brightened. "But if I tell him tonight, I'm guaranteed a trip to his match tomorrow!"  
  
They exited the lobby and began working their way through the maze of hallways, doors, and demons, starting with finding a way to get to the second floor.  
  
"That reminds me... What is the name of the team you are here with?" Kurama was looking forward to fighting her team, especially if she would be there. Whoa, where did THAT come from?  
  
"Actually, they never told me. That's weird, considering they've filled me in on the other teams here worth knowing about. Oh! Touya said they'll be fighting either Team Urimeshi or Team Itchagaki tomorrow." Kurama was startled by that news. His team would have to fight two teams in a row, assuming they won the first set of matches. That means that his team will be at a disadvantage when they fight her team.  
  
"I'm rooting for Team Urimeshi though," she went on. "Both teams have human competitors, but that Itchagaki guy is creepy. And he has a weird fascination with humans."  
  
Kurama laughed at that last statement.  
  
"What?!?" Kagome questioned, irked. "He does."  
  
"Nothing, it just gets me thinking that maybe Itchagaki had something to do with the arrangement of the matches, pitting his team against the only humans in the tournament other than themselves," the fox explained.  
  
"I get what you're saying... Oh, this is my hallway. I guess I'll see you later." Kagome turned to look at him as she spoke.  
  
"Good-bye for now then. I shall see you tomorrow." Kurama pulled a single red rose out of his hair and locked emerald orbs with blue-gray. He gently took her right hand in his and brushed his lips over it. After placing the rose firmly in her hand, he let it fall to her side. "Until tomorrow," the redhead whispered, then took his leave; Kagome watched him walk away and disappear around a corner.  
  
Unbeknownst to the pair, amused brown eyes had been watching the exchange from the doorway. "Hey Kagome," said the childish voice of the spectator.  
  
Kagome practically jumped 3 feet in the air. "Rinku! God, you scared me!"  
  
"That was the intent," he replied with a sly grin.  
  
Kagome smiled back at him. "I hear you had a good fight today."  
  
"Oh yeah! It was a blast! We were up against Team Urimeshi. The guy I fought was a complete idiot; I didn't even break a sweat defeating him. I think his name was Kuwabara."  
  
'Now why does the name Urimeshi sound so familiar? I think there's a kid named Urimeshi at my school...' "So your team lost?" Kagome asked, disbelief flooding her tone.  
  
"Yeah, despite how easily I won my match, their other members were quite good. That Hiei guy totally disintegrated Zeru. And Chu got to fight. Yusuke and him spent all their energy and it came down to a knife-edge death match."  
  
Her eyes widened. "Is he all right?"  
  
"Don't worry, he's fine. Urimeshi enjoyed the fight too much to kill Chu, apparently."  
  
"Well that's good then. I still can't believe your team lost though."  
  
"Believe it. It was awesome! I'm sorry you had to miss it."  
  
"Yeah, Touya had this baka idea that I needed training. I guess I did need a little review, but he just left me there, alone, for hours. Not to mention he froze my feet to a big rock!" she finished heatedly.  
  
"Whoa, whoa there. Calm down," Rinku said, waving his hand about wildly in front of his face.  
  
"You're right, it's nothing to get worked up over, but STILL! I was ALONE on an island full of demons. Demons don't generally take kindly to humans." She was getting exasperated. And tired. Man, was she tired all of a sudden. An individual yawn betrayed her.  
  
"I suppose you're a little tired, huh? You should go to bed. We can talk in the morning," suggested Rinku.  
  
"Alright, I'll go. Don't need to tell me twice..." With that, she walked down the hall and entered her own room, where a worried Touya assaulted her.  
  
Rinku watched as she went, and wondered what exactly happened to her. Well, there was always the morning... He could get an explanation then.  
  
(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)  
  
"Where were you!?" Touya demanded angrily. "I had absolutely no idea what you were doing! For all I know, you could have been attacked!" Obviously, he did not notice the condition of her clothes.  
  
"Relax already!" Her voice dropped to a low murmur. "Actually, I was attacked—"  
  
"What?!?"  
  
"—but as you can see I am perfectly fine. And I wish to fall asleep. Are you going to deny me rest?" Kagome finished as if he hadn't ever interrupted.  
  
"Fine, but you are not leaving my sight for a long time. Got it?"  
  
"Right then," she yawned. "I'll just be sleeping now... Talk in the morning..." Kagome basically collapsed onto her couch and the second her head hit the pillow, she was off in Dream Land.  
  
"You better give me a good explanation in the morning," the ice master whispered as he took in her appearance, knowing full well she wouldn't hear. His eyes took particular notice of the fresh crimson rose grasped tightly in her hand...  
  
(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)  
  
Star: There you all go! A nice little scene there with fluff!  
  
Scythe: Thanks to Kat and my persistence, it was not that bad! BWAHAHAHAHA!!  
  
Kat: Yeah, now that was fun.  
  
Star: HEY! The reviewers want fluff, and they're going to get fluff! Now SHUT UP!  
  
Scythe: Um, how about, no ma'am?  
  
Kat: I can't believe I'm saying this, but FINE! You guys can have some more fluff... I'm going to really have to work on this...  
  
Star: (Bows) Why thank you Kat!  
  
Kat: (Whispers) And don't forget to send me some Star-bashing ideas!  
  
Star: (Taps foot impatiently) I can HEAR you!  
  
(Subliminal Message: WHAT THE HECK IS LIME??) 


	17. Chapter 17

Scythe: (Grumbles and gets out of a big old sack) Thanks a lot, Blade of Fire!  
  
Kat: Now, now, you know it's just because you don't agree with fluff! (Waggles finger)  
  
Star: Exactly, so shut up now.  
  
Scythe: (Scary background of flames) STAR, SHADDUP YOURSELF!!!  
  
Star: (Blinks) That's impossible.  
  
Kat: Yup! Oh, and, um, White Fox 612, the answers to your questions! Inu and at least a couple others are coming in this chapter! And, I'm not quite sure if Kagome will fight! It depends.  
  
Kagome: (Puppy dog eyes, on the ground, begging) Pwetty pwease?  
  
Star: Maybe... (Cackles evilly)  
  
(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)  
  
Chapter 17  
  
(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)  
  
LAST TIME:  
"You better give me a good explanation in the morning," the ice master whispered as he took in her appearance, knowing full well she wouldn't hear. His eyes took particular notice of the fresh crimson rose grasped tightly in her hand...  
  
(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)  
  
Upon waking the next morning, Kagome sat up groggily, shoving away the blanket that had been thrown over her the night before. Yawning, she stood, walked to the restroom, used it, and moved to get some fresh clothes. 'Okay, now where are the clothes again?' she asked herself while scratching her head with one index finger. 'Crap, I've got to ask Touya... Now, where exactly IS Touya?'  
  
She gave her head a moment to clear, but still no thoughts came to mind. Well, there was only one thing to do... "Jin?" she called, heading in the direction of the door to his room.  
  
Before she had even walked 3 feet in the direction of his door, a distractingly brilliant red rose caught her attention, lying on the carpet next to her couch. (YES, HER couch...I mean come on, she sleeps on it right?) Smiling softly at last night's memory, she gently picked up the rose and examined it. The coloration was exactly the same as it had been: no wilting, or any other signs of aging for that matter. Strange... She pushed the thought out of her mind, and carried the rose with her to her previous destination, wary of its thorns.  
  
It took her a moment to realize, in her sleepy state of mind, there were, in fact, NO thorns on that beautiful flower. She traced her finger along the stem to be sure, but there really were none. Kagome didn't understand how that could be possible! 'Well, this IS Makai... Maybe their roses are...different?' she guessed feebly. 'Oh, who am I kidding! This is just too weird...'  
  
Her short, thought-filled walk finally got her to the door. After knocking and getting no response whatsoever, she pushed it open and stepped through it into his room. "What do you want?" asked a cold voice to her left. Oops, she forgot this was Risho's room as well as Jin's.  
  
"I'm looking for Touya," she stated calmly. However cold the team leader's demeanor, it no longer scared Kagome in the least. In fact, she had kind of gotten used to it.  
  
"What did you need him for?" he replied.  
  
She shifted, slightly uncomfortable under his gaze. Why NOW, of all times? "I need some new clothes. This morning I realized I have no idea where mine are."  
  
Risho stood from his seated position on his bed, walked past Kagome, and exited the room. "Over here," he declared, pulling out a drawer. "Wear something dark, or you will stand out too much at today's fight," he advised wisely.  
  
The miko nodded. "Thank you." They just remained there in an awkward silence for a bit.  
  
"I shall take my leave," he finally said, after examining her rose from afar for a moment, and walked out of the room at a brisk pace, closing the door firmly behind him.  
  
Kagome released the breath she was holding, in what she assumed was relief, and strode over to the low dresser. Searching the drawer, she found several sets of female clothing, which surprised her. She pulled out a few articles of clothing and left to go into the bathroom.  
  
When she emerged, she was wearing a black T-shirt that was pretty loose but still clung to her figure slightly, and black semi-tight pants with small intricate designs in neon colors here and there. In her hand was the remains of her shirt and her dirty training pants. (The wrap she kept on, but had slightly redone it.) She had left her hair down, deciding she didn't want to take the time to mess with it.  
  
After dropping her pants on the floor near her other clothing, because she STILL did not know what she was supposed to do with them, and placing her shirt in a waste basket, Kagome exited the room and began the trip to the elevators. If she was correct, then they should be to her left...  
  
(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)  
  
Okay, so she got a little turned around, but she still made it to the elevators! And now, she was back on the first floor, entering the lobby. She didn't fail to notice the appreciative stares the numerous male youkai were sending her way, but she DID fail to acknowledge them. She headed in the general direction of the snack bar, and when she laid eyes on it, quickened her pace. Surely Touya was down here eating!  
  
When she made it to the doorway separating the lobby and the food area, she stopped and searched the place with her eyes. Drat, no Touya. Where the heck could he be?  
  
As Kagome turned to go, she felt a hand on her shoulder. Turning, her eyes trailed from the hand, up the arm, and finally to a man's face. A very TALL man's face, almost as tall as Bakken, wearing a green trench coat and a slightly darker green shirt under it. Strange, he was touching her and she didn't know who he was. Foolish demon, most likely. She extended an inkling of her power toward him. Yep, a demon. 'I expected no less.'  
  
"What do you want?" she asked him coldly, brushing his hand off her shoulder.  
  
"Tell me, what's a human girl like you doing around here? Looking for your mate?" He spoke in a gravelly voice, the dark sunglasses covering his eyes betraying no emotion.  
  
"I don't have a mate, thank you very much. And the reason I am here is none of your business." The miko looked at him suspiciously. "I would appreciate it if you leave me alone. And now I shall take my leave." She faced the vast lobby once more, and was about to actually make some progress towards it, when she again felt the demon's hand on her shoulder.  
  
Tapping her foot impatiently, Kagome confronted him again. Shrugging the hand off roughly, she asked, "What do you want?" through gritted teeth.  
  
"I was just wondering if you are here with Team Urimeshi," he smirked.  
  
"No, I am not. Now, if you'll excuse me..." And she turned once again to go. This time, she felt no annoying hand on her shoulder, so she exited the room and walked toward the front entrance. Maybe Touya was already at the arena; the match was due to start in less than an hour, so... She shrugged. 'It's worth a shot.'  
  
The man stood there for a moment, frowning pensively. If she was not here with Team Urimeshi, then who WAS she here with? And that rose...it stated clearly to any demon that another wished her to be his: a marking, if you will. The energy traces...they were most definitely a demon's...but on a human girl? What was so special about her? ...She said she had no mate, nor was she here with Urimeshi's team...and that energy was definitely from one of their members...but which one? He shook the disturbing thoughts from his head, and seemingly followed her to the door. In reality, he was just making his way toward the stadium. There was a certain match he wanted to see...  
  
(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)  
  
As Kagome neared the opening, she groaned with dread. Standing there, blocking her only exit, was a group of demons. Idly, she wondered why she rarely saw any females here. Maybe the fights were too gruesome for most?  
  
But that was beside the point. Right now, she needed to worry about getting out of there without making some scene, in which the demon will most likely get his butt kicked. (o.o; YAY MORE FIGHTING!)  
  
Determining her actions quickly, Kagome calmly moved to walk through the men, slipping through silently. She was sure they noticed, but until she reached the leader of their gang, no one made a move to stop her.  
  
The leader was, well, interesting, to say the least. His skin and bodily features looked human enough, but his hair...was amazing! It was a gorgeous shade of silver, gleaming beautifully in the sunlight. Placed on top of his head were two cute little...dog ears?!? Oh no, her weakness...animal features... Her hands twitched slightly, but luckily her mind allowed her to pass without doing anything she'd regret.  
  
He put out a hand to halt her as she passed, and in the process pulled her slightly toward himself. Instinctively, Kagome lifted her hands and positioned them carefully on the offending appendage, gripping tightly; as soon as that was done (it only took about a second), she pulled in a way that made him flip over her shoulder and land back-first on the ground in front of her, uttering a small "oof" sound.  
  
The miko's eyes widened as she realized what she had done. "Oh, I'm so sorry!" she cried, extending a hand to help him up. Mentally, she berated herself for have such good reflexes. Well, now that she really thought of it, having good reflexes wasn't such a bad thing, but it can get you INTO bad spots just as well as it can get you OUT of them. 'No! Bad Kagome! Keep your mind on task!'  
  
"Feh! Wench, you didn't need to flip me!" he yelled irritably as he stood, without accepting her help, brushing his bright red haori off. His eyes burned with anger, seeming to melt the amber and gold within, combining the two colors to create an extraordinary new one.  
  
Kagome's gaze locked with those fiery ones, and her own eyes took on much the same attribute. "Where do you get off calling me a wench, huh?!? My name is Kagome! Use it! And besides, I already apologized to you!" she replied hotly.  
  
"Well that's still no reason! For all I know, you were making an attempt on my life!" he shouted back.  
  
"And why would I want to kill you? God, all I wanted to do was get through here nice and quiet-like, but NO! You just had to put your hand on my shoulder!" She caught herself there, tearing still angry eyes from his heated pools. Taking deep breaths to calm herself, she finally said, "Why exactly DID you put your hand on my shoulder?"  
  
"To get your attention," he snapped.  
  
"Well, that explains a whole lot," Kagome declared sarcastically, rolling her eyes.  
  
The demon seemed to have calmed quite a bit by then, so his retort was simply in a cocky tone, which she was sure must have been his usual one. "You are a ningen, so I was wondering if you knew where the priestess Kikyo was. She usually hangs around with humans when there are some nearby."  
  
Her eyes snapped back to his. "L-Lady K-Kikyo? A-are you serious? It's always been my dream to meet her!" she exclaimed, becoming excited in a hyper/happy kind of way. Then she took in his appearance again, and, finally putting two and two together, she quieted down once more. "You must be Inuyasha then! My mas—teacher talked a lot about you two. You guys are famous!"  
  
"Not really," Inuyasha smirked modestly. "Only in Makai, Rekai, and apparently parts of Ningenkai." Okay, well, so much for modesty...  
  
Kagome ignored it though; she was used to that sort of attitude from long years with Touya's superiority complex. "So, is Lady Kikyo missing or something?"  
  
"Yeah, she disappeared sometime early this morning," he frowned, suddenly very business-like, losing much of his arrogance.  
  
"Does she run off often?" Kagome asked, suddenly very business-like as well.  
  
"No," he replied, golden orbs flooding with worry.  
  
"You've got to be kidding me...! A priestess, alone, on a remote island in Makai?? How stupid are you!" she scolded. "Ugh! I'll keep an eye out for her, all right?" she said in a more comforting manner.  
  
"Thanks a lot," he said, very much relieved with the addition of her help. "Usually, she will seek out humans, so you should have no problem finding her"—his face fell—"unless something happened." He looked back up into her eyes, and, assuring himself as much as her, he stated, "She will be fine. Kikyo knows how to take care of herself." Kagome smiled warmly at him, unintentionally giving him the encouragement he very much needed. He looked around and noted no demons other than the ones he had brought with him, so he made a quick calculation in his head. Losing one member wouldn't hurt his ranks, if he chose right. "Shippo, go with her. Help her look," Inuyasha commanded loudly.  
  
"Yes, sir!" came from a little reddish-brown fur ball that zipped out from behind a nearby demon. His tiny body latched itself onto Kagome's head, and she laughed merrily. The little guy was absolutely adorable! "Hi, I'm Shippo!" he introduced himself energetically.  
  
"I'm Kagome," she giggled. Dang it, he was a fox! Yet again, her hands twitched slightly, this time at the urge to pet the kitsune. Stupid animal-based weakness...  
  
"If I'm not mistaken, Kagome, you were heading towards the stadium?" Inuyasha interrupted, the edge of his mouth twitching at their interaction.  
  
"Yes," she answered, looking back at him, meeting his amused eyes.  
  
"I will meet you after the match, then. Keep your eyes peeled for any sign of her, do you understand?"  
  
"Yeah. Crap, I've got to go! The match will start soon! See ya!" With that, she rushed away, tiny kitsune holding onto her hair for dear life.  
  
(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)  
  
Star: THERE!!! ARE YA HAPPY NOW??? I SPENT A LOT OF PRECIOUS TIME ON THIS CHAPTER, NO WAY AM I GONNA LET YOU ALL SAY IT'S BAD!!!! (Breathes heavily)  
  
Kat: Calm down, Idiot.  
  
Scythe: Yes, and...well, I'm going to personally apologize for the lack of fluff. Okay, some little fluffy feeling Kagome felt, but there was no Kurama there so, IT AIN'T FLUFF!  
  
Star: ...Now who's the idiot?  
  
Kat: Still you. Idiot.  
  
Star: Humph!  
  
Scythe: Riiiiiiiight, and good day to you too!  
  
Star: That made no sense.  
  
Kat: And neither do you. Alrighty then! Come on people, send me some Idiot- bashing ideas! Y'all forgot to last time. (Puppy dog pout)  
  
Scythe: Who is this 'Idiot' that you refer to?  
  
Kat: Why, none other than our very own personal idea-writer-downer!  
  
Star: Me?  
  
Kat: Yup!  
  
Star: Ohhhh, okay.  
  
Scythe: You do realize you just got dissed...?  
  
Star: Yeah, pretty much. (Blinks in realization) MORON I'M GONNA KILL YOU!!!! (Chases Kat with a bazooka loaded with a BIG ham)  
  
Kat: (Turns into chibi form) Aww, come on, you can do better than that!  
  
Scythe: (Sweat drop) Okay then, until the next time! God, I've got to stop hanging around with the hyper freaks over there...  
  
(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)!(!)  
  
IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay, for y'all who have been reading my other fics, I am SOOOO sorry for not updating them in a while! . I've been bad!!!!! I have total writer's block on Youkai Hunt!!! And Twist of Fate!!! (Bows apologetically) Like I said, I am SOOO sorry! I'm putting Twist of Fate on hiatus, so don't expect any updates there! I think I have one more chapter done, and I'll post that so the other readers know, but after that, NO MORE UPDATES UNTIL I FINISH YOUKAI HUNT!!! Okay, really, I am so, so, SO sorry!! (Salutes) Until the next time! 


	18. Chapter 18

**Star:** And HERE is the next chapter for all you folks out there hooked on my story!

**Kat:** Way to be an egotistical moron!! (Thumbs up)

**Scythe:** Yes, now give them the damn chapter and SHUT UP.

* * *

**Chapter 18**

* * *

**LAST TIME:**

(Inuyasha) "I will meet you after the match, then. Keep your eyes peeled for any sign of her, do you understand?"

(Kagome) "Yeah. Crap, I've got to go! The match will start soon! See ya!" With that, she rushed away, tiny kitsune holding onto her hair for dear life.

* * *

Approaching the stadium, Kagome could see that it would not be easy to get in without a ticket. Anyone who didn't have one was already begging to be let in, getting violent, or looking for a scalper to buy one off of. And to make matters worse, she stood out quite a bit from the rest of them, what with being a human, being female, having an adorable little fox demon on her head...

Kagome sighed and headed over toward the demon she assumed was accepting tickets. This might possibly be the greatest challenge of her short life. I mean she has no ticket, no proof that she's there with a team, and a passenger using her for transportation! ...Tch, YEAH RIGHT! This would be easy unless she wanted to avoid making a scene, in which case she may have to sneak by. Hmm, not a bad idea...

"Hi." She walked up to the demon and stood slightly away from the mob of demons fighting over tickets.

The demon glanced at her and said, "Ticket?"

"I don't have one," she grinned sheepishly.

"Then no entrance."

Kagome gawked at the man. "Whaaat?! Don't you know who I _AM_?"

"Apparently not," he replied indifferently. Kagome stamped her feet to help herself cool down a little.

Scowling, she answered with, "I'm here with the Mashoutsukai Team, and will you let me through or not?"

"I cannot let you pass without a ticket." He was restraining laughter at the thought of a human traveling with a group of demons, particularly THOSE demons, she could tell. And she thought it very rude of him to assume such things, even though in a normal case it would be true.

"Fine then, you want another reason why I should be allowed in?" He nodded. "Because I am helping Lord Inuyasha find his mate, and there is a great chance that she will be at the main attraction, the MATCH. Do you have a problem with that?" She smiled sweetly.

He looked blank for a moment before recognition hit him and his face paled. Lord Inuyasha was only a hanyou, but still he was stronger than most demons. He never lost a fight, well, except against his older brother, and even then it was usually a tie of some sort. Him being a hanyou and him having a human for a mate, it gave her story some plausibility. Besides, he sure didn't want to be on the Lord's bad side, and wasn't that the mark of service to the Lord's family on the fox's shirt?

"O-of course! Right this way, miss." And he spread his arms in a swooping manner, directing her towards the door.

"Thank you!" she exclaimed hurriedly, very much relieved for making it past. Now, to find the way to the arena itself...

Hmm, a left here, a right there, down the stairs, walk down the hallway and go straight through the end, find yourself in a room full of hungry demons and continue on your way until you leave the room with several of those demons following you. Yes, it was now straight ahead, fifteen yards away!

She felt a presence approaching from behind, then felt as it attempted to wrap one arm around her waist. Before it had the chance, she sidestepped the move easily and persisted her previous path. No youkai would stop HER from reaching her destination.

Another, slightly stronger, presence came up next to her, and placed his head on her shoulder. He hadn't even made touchdown before she had lifted her right hand and flicked it backwards directly into his face, targeting his nose. He fell over backwards, clutching his bruised appendage.

The remaining few demons scurried away; that had probably been their leader she just hit. But did she care? Nah, not at all.

The door in front of her was labeled "STADIUM ENTRANCE 1." 'Well, I guess this is it.' Wasting no time, she shoved open the wooden door to find that her team was not the only one in there. That creep, Ichigaki, and his human team members were there as well. Go figure, she would have thought Ichigaki and his team would be out there by now, considering their match would start in, oh, about 5 minutes or so.

Taking a closer look at the other humans in the room, Kagome was deeply disturbed. The poor guys looked...unhealthy! Their faces held no expression, and bloodlust was clearly expressed in their eyes. Weird...things, were sticking out of their backs, and pulsed with what she assumed was their heartbeat. Shivering, she looked away.

Somehow, the evil doctor caught her eye. Their gazes locked, and she squirmed uncomfortably under his harsh, scrutinizing stare. It seemed as if he were looking at her as if she was an object on display, not as if she were a living person. 'Damn it, stop looking at me like that!!' she felt like yelling.

And so she did. She didn't exactly YELL it; more like hissed it at him through clenched teeth. He didn't seem fazed at all, and he just continued to stare at her. Who knew what the moron was thinking. Well, she soon found out.

Turning to Risho, as team leader, he asked, "Is the human for sale?"

"No," he replied coldly, voice chilling even to Kagome, who had already become used to it.

"Really?" Ichigaki squawked. "Are you sure? I can make a very good deal for you. She would be a nice addition to my collection. Her spirit energy is unusually high. With the correct exploitation, she could be quite the warrior—"

"I said, no." Risho was as calm as ever, glaring icily at the troll. By this time, Touya looked as if he were restraining himself from rushing forth and killing the offender for even hinting at hurting his little "sister."

Kagome beat him to it. She walked over to the troll rather calmly, but basically as soon as she was next to him, her eye twitch went out of control. Raising her fist, shaking with rage, she punched him squarely in the lower jaw, leaving a large red mark that she knew would become a bruise by the end of the day. "Shut...up." The shrimp merely smirked and twisted his head back to look her over once again.

"I don't think I want to. As I said before, you would make a fine addition to my collection." He glanced at Risho, then Touya, and then finally back to her. "Since your possessors do not wish to sell you to me, I may have to strike a deal. Or I could just take you. Which would you prefer?"

Now it was Kagome's turn to be cold. "I PREFER that you would LEAVE me ALONE," she ground out crossly. He opened his mouth to speak, but Kagome lifted her hand and punched him again to make him shut up. Well, TRIED to punch him. Him being a demon, though he was quite a weak one, he saw the punch coming and caught her fist with his palm, closing his hand around hers, and drawing her towards himself.

She braced her feet on the floor and instead pulled him toward her, twisting at the right moment to flip him. Once he was down, he knocked her legs from beneath her, causing her to land hard on her butt: a cheap shot. He stood up rather calmly and extended a hand to help her up. She stood up angrily, without accepting his help. The three humans were restraining Touya to keep him from attacking their creator, while the rest of the team she accompanied looked on indifferently.

Jin walked in just then, and Kagome noticed for the first time that he hadn't been there all along. "Hey, what're you—huh?!?" One of the three humans had moved to restrain Jin when he'd tried to advance on the arguing pair. "What's the big idea?"

Kagome kept her eyes trained on the evil man in front of her. "Leave them alone, why don't ya? He did nothing to you, and neither did we."

Ichigaki looked her over for the third and (what she hoped was) the final time. "Yes, but I would very much like to have you. You would be much better than these three with the proper training."

"There's no way!" she exclaimed hotly. If he didn't shut up, she would have a murder case on her hands, she just knew it.

"Team Urimeshi, please enter the stadium," was heard coming through the large doors leading to the ring. Even louder was heard the boos and other such ministrations from the mob of people in the audience. Then, slightly more excitedly, Koto yelled, "And please welcome Team Ichigaki!!!"

Ichigaki smirked and started walking out to the arena, grabbing hold of Kagome's wrist as he passed her. "HEY!!" The doctor literally dragged her while she attempted to get his stupid demon hand off from around her own wrist. Well, there was always the violent way... The miko quickly put her weight on his arm so she could swing herself around and kick him; her attack landed on the side of his head, shocking him so that he released his hold on her.

From the unbalance that resulted, Kagome fell backwards, but was caught by two of the human slaves, one on each arm. She looked up at them confusedly before the righted herself. Then they tried bringing her with them toward the ring, but she could tell they were half-hearted about the ordeal. If they didn't want to, then why didn't they stop? No time for questions! 'If he gets the chance he'll turn me into whatever it is that these guys are, and that is definitely NOT gonna happen.'

She slipped her arms out of their grasp, and dodged the remaining man's futile attempts to recapture her as he walked past. No matter, they stopped trying as soon as they were out of range, never even pausing on their steady trek.

Kagome was dumbfounded. What the hell had just happened?!? She felt Touya's presence beside her, and seconds later she felt Jin's. "What, exactly, just happened?" she whispered.

Touya glared at the doctor's back just as confused as Kagome was, while Jin's expression blanked. "I do not know. The match will start now... Are you planning on watching it?"

She smirked. "Yes, I want to see Ichigaki get the crap beat out of him by Team Urimeshi."

"And you are sure they can win?" the ice master asked.

"Positive. There's something about them..." She shook her head to clear her thoughts. "Anyway, um, I'll be back as soon as the match is over, okay?"

Touya nodded mutely, and upon confirmation, Kagome exited the room and made her way up to the top of the stands in record time. Staring down and searching for a good available seat, she noticed something that was strange... Wasn't there supposed to be five members on each team? If so, then why did both of the teams only have three? Well, Ichigaki had four if you count Ichigaki himself; but, being who he was, she highly doubted he counted.

Urimeshi and Ichigaki were in the ring now, determining the rules of the match. The announcer girl's, Koto's, ears twitched amusingly as they spoke, and when they finally stopped, she made the announcement, "Okay! It has been decided that this will be a simple three on three match!" Ichigaki left the tiled ring and his humans entered, while Urimeshi's two teammates joined him center stage.

All of them were humans... Weren't both of these teams composed of three humans and two demons? Then...why were the demons missing? So many questions, so much time... Ah, no, the match was starting. 'Figure it out later, right now I need to find somewhere to sit.'

A hand tapped her shoulder, and Kagome turned to come face to face with none other than...a woman in the blue and white robes of a fully trained miko, and Kagome knew exactly whom she was. "L-Lady Kikyo?!?"

* * *

**Star:** AHEM! Hey y'all...I am SOOOOOOO SORRY!!!!! About the late update...Um...Well...

**Scythe:** (Sigh) It's called writer's block...SUPREME MAJORLY BAD writer's block...

**Kat:** What she said!! Oh yea, she had this written but didn't think it was much good...She was gonna add some more to it...So it wouldn't seem short...But THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN!

**Star:** Exactly!! So...Yea...Don't kill me please...The whole reason I didn't leave a note is because I didn't know I'd get writer's block...Plus with school starting and all the homework, projects, crap, crap, crap, crud, crap, crud, and more crap...well you get the idea. (Smiles) And oh yea...leaving a note instead of a chapter is grounds for violation and I could get my fic removed and my account suspended...I've had it happen before...NOT FUN.

**Scythe:** Blah, blah, blah! Apology...Um...

**Kat:** Let's just say we hope it's accepted!! And...Sorry in advance if the next chapter's late too... (Sweat drop)


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

* * *

**LAST TIME:**

A hand tapped her shoulder, and Kagome turned to come face to face with none other than...a woman in the blue and white robes of a fully trained miko. And Kagome knew exactly whom she was. "L-Lady Kikyo!"

* * *

The miko smiled slightly and nodded her head. "Yes… I don't often tread among humans…" Her face took on a look of embarrassment as she said, "Would you mind if I sat with you to watch the fight?" 

"O-of course! I mean, no, I don't m-mind!" Kagome, flustered from finally meeting her role model for any and all priestess duties, quickly turned away from her and frantically searched yet again for a seat.

"There's one," Kikyo blurted, directing Kagome's eyes to an empty pair amid demon-occupied seats. She smiled her small, shy smile, then grabbed Kagome's forearm and rushed over before they were taken.

"Seat's taken," grumbled the demon immediately to the left of their destination; he was staring intently at the ring below them. Both girls could tell he was lying. A simple _human_ with no powers could tell he was lying. The guy was just that bad.

"I don't think so," Kagome stated, settling comfortably in her chair. She kept her eyes trained on the Urimeshi Team as they prepared to battle. Why did Urimeshi seem so familiar? She could have sworn she'd seen that face before… Somewhere in Ningenkai, to be sure.

"Not you, girl; the other one." He smiled what she thought he believed was a charming smile (despite the fact it failed miserably at any resemblance to charm), then stared back at the arena.

"Whatever." The thrill of meeting Lady Kikyo had worn off when the teams had lined up in the ring. Kagome couldn't keep her eyes off them.

Kikyo started to say something then, but both of her "companions" shushed her. The match had finally started, and they were going to watch it if it killed them—and it very well might.

Whatever was going on in the ring was one-sided. The vertically challenged Masked Fighter was the only one able to dodge the Ichigaki Team's elusive attacks. What was going on? Could Urimeshi and his friend really not see their energy? The leader kept trying to dodge more than those two rings that were thrown at him; it looked more like he saw six. As for the others: a long pole and an energy punch aren't hard to dodge.

This match was totally screwed.

Finally, Kagome couldn't take it anymore. She stood up and leaned slightly over the seat in front of her. "Urimeshi, is that the best you've got?" she yelled, hands cupped around her mouth as amplifiers. "I can do better than that, _moron_! I can do WAY better! Don't tell me the human team is gonna lose the stinkin' fight 'cause they can't see their opponents' friggen' energy!"

Her taunts were getting to them. Well, they were getting to Urimeshi anyway. "Shut up!" he shouted back at her, having pinpointed the annoyance as she spoke. "You don't know what you're freakin' talkin' about! You're just some stupid girl who thinks she's better than everyone else!"

"Well apparently I'm better than you; you can't even see their stupid energy!"

"How the hell do you know that! I can see their energy just fine—!"

"Yeah right! That's really why you can't dodge two damn rings, an energy punch, and a stupid energy javelin! You moron!"

"You've already called me a moron—wait, did you just say there are only _two_ damn rings!"

"Yes! IDIOT! Dodge _them_, not the fakes!"

"If I'd known there were _fakes_, I wouldn't have wasted my time, like I am right now!"

His eyebrow was twitching. It was twitching so bad it looked as if it might twitch right off his face. Kagome didn't take this as a good sign; neither did the rest of the demons in the stadium with half a brain.

"Oh, crap..."

* * *

Yusuke's energy exploded around him, curling around his form with the angered strength of a venomous snake. Damn that girl for making him mad. Damn that girl for being right. And damn that girl for actually helping! 

He could see what she was talking about now. There WERE only two damn rings dangling from the redhead's forearms, not six. The one with the braided black hair was carrying a long pole, which sparkled white. That same shimmering energy surrounded the brunette's right fist. 'Guess their attacks really aren't that special.'

"Urimeshi, stop!" Kuwabara spoke up. "Don't fight them." He dematerialized his orange sword, and stood in the center of the ring, completely prone to attacks.

The Ichigaki Team seized the opportunity and struck. Even if KuwaBAKA could have seen their energy, there was no way he could have dodged with all three attacks coming at him.

"KUWABARA!" the team leader called out, eyes wide. Was he admitting defeat—committing suicide?

When the smoke cleared, Kuwabara barely stood there, shoulders drooping and body trembling. "Look at their eyes," he croaked.

Yusuke looked, and he couldn't tear his eyes away from the sight. Blood leaked from the corners and trailed down their cheeks. They were crying. They were crying blood.

* * *

Kuwabara stared into the folds of his mind. It was black. There was nothing, no thoughts at all. Then, there came great pain. Immeasurable pain. Each time his heart beat, each powerful pump, a shockwave of anguish flowed with it. 

It wasn't just blood; something was in it. He cried out but made no sound. Not a whisper, croak, nor tiny bit of air passed his lips.

This was definitely not his mind; he had involuntarily intruded upon someone else's thoughts.

'What's going on?'

He wasn't left guessing for long.

A memory joined him in that mysterious black expanse. There were several guys—humans—gathered around a futon. On that futon rested an older man: not graying—he still had fair brown hair—but certainly not young. The boys were crying; tears dripped from every one of their chins, collecting into small, wet pools on the hardwood floor.

All was silent. Nothing could be heard, not even the boys' voices as they spoke to one another, obviously discussing something, most likely the man in the middle.

Then a few of them turned their attention to the sliding paper door. The door slipped to the side, revealing a short, ugly troll. He said something to them; he must have degraded the man, for several of the boys jumped to their feet, highly insulted, while the others sat in shock.

The troll spoke again. This time, they all turned their heads to examine the man's face. Mr. Troll spoke, pointing to three of the boys; they rose to their feet.

Kuwabara could now see the trio's faces clearly. They seemed oddly familiar...

The three exited the room, single file, in an extremely somber mood. The remaining boys cried harder, sobs shaking their forms, now that their companions were gone. Their only comfort was that the man would be saved.

The strange memory faded, only to be replaced by many more in some great slideshow. This time, those familiar boys were slaughtering innocent people. There were youkai, hanyou, ningens, men, women, children, more...

All of them ended up dead, slain at the hands of those three formerly innocent boys.

"Kill me." It was the first sound to be made all throughout, other than the horrid screams of dying people. And the voice that spoke those words seemed so calm, so decided, even as it admitted defeat.

"Kill us," the voice continued, picking up urgency. This time two others had joined it.

The three human members of Ichigaki's team appeared before him, replacing the images of the dead. They extended their arms, crying relentlessly, and implored Kuwabara to help them.

"Please, kill us. We must die!"

"We don't deserve to live!"

"Please, anything is better than this cursed existence!" Blood streaked down their cheeks, staining their faces with its crimson color.

"NO!" With each plea, Kuwabara's resolve strengthened. There was no way he would slay innocent souls. The real deserver of pain—in the form of a tortuously slow death—was Dr. Ichigaki.

* * *

Jerked out of the trance in his rage, he quickly materialized his sword, turning his body so he faced Ichigaki. "You..." He paused, and the arena, as well as everyone in the stadium, silenced, hanging to his words as though mesmerized by his voice. "You... _Bastard_!" Sword raised high above his head, Kuwabara sprinted forward, aiming a slash for Dr. Ichigaki's neck. 

His attack was cut short, though, as the three enslaved souls came to the doctor's defense. Red and Javelin-guy grabbed his wrists, restraining him by locking each of his arms in their grip, while the third brought down his fist directly on Kuwabara's back. Blackness spotted his vision for a moment as a pang coursed through his spine.

But he didn't give up. He couldn't. Not after what he had just seen.

Even as the orange lightning-like energy slipped from his hand and disappeared, Kuwabara kept struggling. "You... _jerk_. How could you..." With another blow to his head, blood began to force itself up through his throat and out of his mouth. Between coughs, he somehow found the energy to finish. "...How could you _lie_ to them? _How could you steal their... fucking lives!_" With his final words, their last blow was struck to his stomach, a blow that could have very well injured his internal organs.

And out went his lights.

* * *

"Kuwa...bara? Kuwabara? Kuwabara, an-answer me..." Yusuke stumbled over to his comrade, knees giving way just as he reached his side, and his energy dwindled before finally collapsing. "Damn it... I said answer me..." There was an uncommon tenderness in his words as he said it, the kind of care that typically eluded him in all his hotheaded glory. Gripping his shoulders, Yusuke began to mumble, "Kuwabara... You idiot, get up. Wake up, now." After he still didn't move for untold thousands of seconds, Yusuke shook him, and his voice rose in volume and pitch. "What the hell is wrong with you, you stupid baka? Why couldn't you just move? Why... WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO YOUR BRAIN? DID IT DIE OR SOMETHING! I'm surprised you even have one left!" 

Yusuke's attempt to humor out the situation didn't help. In fact, it failed miserably. Damn. Damn it. Damn it, damn it, damn it... _Damn._

"Damn."

He stood, rising to his full height. His energy once more swirled about him in an array of colors, primarily a shimmering white. "You bastards, you freakin' _hurt _him..." Yusuke's fingers tightened into a fist, solid and extremely capable of forcing through cement. His spirit energy clung to it as if the fist was its only lifeline. He pulled back, clenching his jaw almost as tightly as his fingers, and prepared to punch.

But he never got the chance to move. The Masked Fighter sullenly stepped in front of him, standing between one hothead and three still-teary boys. "Urimeshi, get a hold of yourself. It's not like you've never seen someone die." Her bland tone was a shocking jolt back to reality. Yusuke managed to snap out of it and look at his ally with actual sanity in his eyes before she turned her complete attention back to the opponents.

"Come on, fools. Attack me. _Now_."

* * *

The Lord of the Western Lands of Makai stood from his upholstered chair, more silent than a cat, and briskly stalked nearer to the window overlooking the stadium. He raised one hand and tapped the reinforced glass with his finger, the motion made impatient by his thoughts. 

"What's going on down there?" he bit out, his voice soft and tinged with harshness. "There's something wrong with the Ichigaki humans..." Sometimes, apparently, Sesshomaru felt it was necessary for someone to state the obvious.

"Perhaps they're connected somehow."

Sesshomaru's head snapped toward the sarcastic tone. A feral growl pulsed from his chest at the offender's insolence; an unnerving glare supported his message.

"_Akuma_! Hold your tongue," was the soft-spoken response from another in the stadium balcony. The speaker turned to face Sesshomaru. "Lord Sesshomaru, I apologize for his negligence."

He regarded the young demon with an air of superiority, but chose to forgive him rather than offer punishment. "Do recall, young one, I am a _Demon Lord_ here in Makai. Do not cross me, as well as consider your mission at all times, and our terms shall stay friendly. Clear?" He did not have to wait for a response to know that he had, in fact, been quite clear enough. The boy's red eyes glinted with grudging obedience; he obviously didn't prefer taking orders.

"Yes, _Lord_." Immediately following another fierce look from Sesshomaru, Akuma shifted his weight from his right to his left foot before stepping toward the observation window—a spot several yards away from Sesshomaru.

His defendant sent a powerful glare to the raven-colored hair lining his head as he turned his back. She, herself, stepped nearer to the Lord for observation of the events happening below them.

"Hayashi, what do you make of it?" He spoke to the young woman beside him without turning his eyes—focused once more on the ring—toward her.

"Suspicious. I don't think it has anything to do with him, though. That one has Ichigaki written all over it." Haya's gaze lingered on the redhead collapsed behind the two other Urimeshi Team members. Her judgment placed him to be a bumbling idiot with strong morals and a will to survive. He wasn't dead. Surprisingly enough, it would take a lot to kill him.

Haya felt her spirit perk in the direction of one of the guards stationed before the entrance to the prep room designated Ichigaki's this round. _Yes, Taiza?_

_Incoming demons. Urimeshi members Kurama and Hiei riding some strange mechanical demons. Yume and I are out of sight, and I've got our auras covered. The demons don't look like they plan on stopping before they reach the walls._

_Is it him?_

_No. Ichigaki's done this, I'm sure._

_Fair enough. Keep your post._

_Done._

"Sesshomaru." Haya addressed him in a sharp tone, keeping it soft so as to not cause alarm. "Pay attention to the entrance on your right." He nodded, hawk-like eyes missing none of the action.

Then the wall seemed to explode, and amid the rubble and flying dust, out came—

* * *

The Masked Fighter raised her head to face the rocks zooming from the new hole in the wall. Good luck to whoever got stuck with fixing that mess! Not that she cared in the least. The landscape of the area she fought in was none of her concern. What _was_ her concern were the figures emerging from the smoky dust storm. 

One figure was clothed in black, and the other human shape was clothed in a reddish-pink sort of outfit. Both rode large, dangerous-looking machines. Both of them were her missing teammates. She'd have to berate them later. First, she should get their story. Yes, that would be the wise thing to do.

But for now, the rest of the fight took priority.

She arranged her hands and collected her spirit energy, focusing it into her palms. She knew this attack would return her to her fighting prime, and she didn't mind that much. The purpose of her mask _was_ to hide her true identity; what's the hurt in risking exposure of a face that wasn't hers anymore?

She smirked as the three immobile fighters crashed back into action again, lunging for her and her participating teammates. "SPIRIT WAVE!" she shouted, forcing the energy out from her hands to spread into a shield-like barrier before them. The resulting clash was bigger than she'd anticipated; the sheer force of the blast sent sharp bursts of energy flying toward her face. There may as well have been knives tossed toward her at a dangerous proximity to her face, but we all know that didn't happen… The shrapnel was enough to uncleanly slice the material wrapped around her head, and a large piece of it dropped away to reveal her large chocolate brown eyes and smooth skin—as well as some pink ringlets dangling by her ears.

The dust finally cleared, and a fearless Masked Fighter stood in the center of the ring, missing only one thing—her mask. A gasp traveled through the demonic crowd as they first assessed the damage of the attack then shifted their scrutiny to the human who possessed so much power.

The three fighters of the Ichigaki team lay on the heavy tiles, defeated. During the blast, the odd things attached to their backs and infused with their blood were ejected from their bodies. Now blood spattered the floor surrounding them, but it shimmered slightly as though thousands of tiny insects were swimming in the crimson drops. Closer inspection revealed those insects were none other than mechanized… well, for lack of a better word, _insects_.

The Masked Fighter nodded as her lips lifted in a slight smirk. She had known it all along. They were simply being controlled by the pumps Ichigaki had infused with their backs. No doubt she would have to explain this to the dimwits on her team, unless Kurama and Hiei had already discovered the secret—in which case, she would pawn it off on them, but in the meantime…

Koto's fox ears twitched at the silence, bewildered at the obvious defeat of the Ichigaki Team in such a manner. "The… Well, guys, the winner of this match is _Team Urimeshi_, by a stunning end technique! It seems the mysterious Masked Fighter has also been unmasked! She appears to be a…" Koto paused to carefully bring herself nearer to the contestant. "…Young female with pink hair! Talk about surprises! Now, um… Off you go; it's time to leave the ring now." The hand not already preoccupied holding her microphone shooed at the teams impatiently. "And would someone mind taking these guys?" She sent a signal up toward the judge's stand high in the stadium as a request for transport assistance.

Miss Pink-Hair glared at the offending kitsune announcer, and immediately grabbed Yusuke by the ear. "Up, dimwit, and make yourself useful. Grab the idiot." She then stalked over to the doors adjoined to the wait room that had been assigned to their team for the match, trusting that Kurama and Hiei, as well as the humans, would follow her in their own time. She wanted to get out of the public eye ASAP.

* * *

Kurama dropped the earthen floor with grace unsurprising to those who knew of his demon side. He landed with perfect balance, instantly directing his gaze toward Dr. Ichigaki. 

_Hiei, I'll handle the doctor. Think you can manage our "steeds"?_

_Hn. Of course. Enjoy._

With that, Hiei was off, back through the wall with both of the now-tamed mechanical demons in tow. Who knew how he intended to banish them from life?

Kurama took one step, and quick as lightning he was within six feet of the man he intended to punish.

Ichigaki had apparently begun to panic; his eyes darted back and forth in an almost hypnotic way, and the whites shone in bright contrast against the gray of his demon skin. Suddenly a sly grin overtook his features, and he slipped a hand into the frontal pocket of his lab coat. When it reemerged, it held a tiny bottle of a greenish liquid, which he proceeded to unscrew and lift to his ugly troll lips.

* * *

Kagome's eyes nearly dropped out of her head when part of the wall imploded with no apparent warning. Immediately upon comprehending said implosion, she was able to sense a demon very prominent in her memory. Or… Something. Kurama wasn't really a demon, but he wasn't human either, and that just confused her greatly—so she chose not to dwell. As usual, she avoided the more difficult problem, and moved on with her thoughts. 

Her mood perked up as soon as her spirit was able to feel Kurama's nearby. Something about him made her feel safe, safer than she'd felt in ages; the only feeling worthy of rivalry was the safety she felt when she was near Touya, and that said a lot.

That bang had done a lot to bring her out of the fight, though, and she almost missed the main event: the win. _Almost_, of course, for how could anyone with one hemisphere of a brain miss the blast erupting from that small, small warrior?

She only wished she could discover what had been wrong with Ichigaki's humans.

That was another matter entirely, though, and right now Kurama was in the area. That meant she wasn't going to have much of an attention span for the time being.

Speaking of whom, what the heck was going on down there? The lovely fat doctor was… transforming! It was as though his body were erupting, growing muscles where before there were none, bone structure completely changing and extending, skin expanding, altogether allowing Ichigaki to grow to a monster three times his previous size! That stupid demon; what was he up to now? She would have loved to just smack that smirk off his little…

Speaking of demons, where the heck did Shippo get off to? _Oh. My. God. I can't believe I forgot about him!_ Kagome's eyes quickly scanned the seats near her for the small kitsune, mentally berating herself for completely abandoning him in thought and action.

Wait. Stop. There! She had found him, all the way down there—by the hole in the wall. Kagome groaned. _You have got to be kidding me. If that Ichigaki guys gets him, Inuyasha will kill me, but if I leave Kikyo, I'll be no better off. Crap. Crap, crap, crap. _Her frantic thoughts paused, before she shrugged, knowing she could handle whatever that hanyou had for her. So long as nothing bad happened to Kikyo.

"Um… Lady Kikyo, Inuyasha was looking for you; he seemed really worried. Go to him as soon as possible, or he'll have my head. Please and thank you! I must be going now." She saluted the priestess playfully, shot her a smile, and bounded off down the aisle stairs. It didn't take long for her to reach the thin wall separating the grass surrounding the ring from the stands, as though the spectators attended for a mere baseball game. One hand shot down to grip the top edge of said wall, and she used this hand combined with her momentum to vault into the danger zone.

To her left was the ring now, to the right more spectators, and directly before her, not thirty feet off, was the now-giant troll and to his left, a certain red-haired fox demon with emerald eyes she could melt in. Where had Shippo gone?

There, perched on the cement wall, as close to the pair of demons as he could get without stepping off. Kagome's options were limited. Choice one stated that she could go to Shippo and remove him from near-immediate danger—while placing herself in more danger than he was at present. Choice two said she could leave him be, and save him should something go wrong—but she did not have the youkai speed she would need, and would most likely be too late. _Inuyasha will have my head if I lose one of his, er, employees_, she reminded herself. Option one it was, then.

She grumbled something rather unpleasant under her breath, then exhaled softly. A quick glance toward Kurama told her he had noticed her and was watching her warily. _Good, at least I won't die under his watch_, Kagome told herself, though she knew she was only being a fool. What would a gentleman like him have to do with a brash, human girl like her? He had no reason to save her life, just as she had no reason to feel this odd sense of safety he imposed on her.

Kagome's right foot shifted slightly in the grass, preparing her for the spring, when the doctor turned to better face both of his assumed enemies, Kurama as well as Kagome. Incidentally, the move placed him directly between the miko and her demon destination. _Grand. Just grand._ She sent a glare his way, though she was sure he mistook it for a malicious look for being her enemy; no, it was more like an extremely annoyed look for getting in her way. She didn't want to publicize her strength, after all, she only wanted to get back her poor charge! Hopefully, Kurama would kill him quickly.

"So, the human wants to fight me, does she? What is it you have to do with Urimeshi, or even those boys of mine?" Ichigaki's voice was even deeper than it was before, more gravelly—more disgusting than ever.

Kagome's eyes widened, and once again, the doctor misjudged her expression; this time, she was positive he had.

"Scared, are we?" _(I am not scared, you stupid, big, fat, demon! Go fall in a hole and die or something—oh, wait, you're too stupid for that. Hah!) _He chuckled a short, dry, toady laugh. "Well, you know, I haven't revoked my offer yet. You could still come join me. Or, I could take your life, your little, precious life." A wicked smirk sliced up one side of his face. Her eyebrow twitched once, then again. Why didn't Kurama just pulverize him already?

A soft growling sound reached her ears, though it faded fast; to her surprise, it came from Kurama's direction. This time her eyes widened due to the shock of the moment. Why the heck was he growling? Ichigaki hadn't insulted Kurama, he'd made a snide comment to Kagome! So why, then…?

_No time for that_. Kagome mentally scolded herself for the distraction. When an enemy is around, you never let your guard down. Never. It's a novice mistake, to be quite honest.

"You can't be serious," Kagome quipped, her voice cheerful—with a splash of venom. "Haven't we already covered this? I refuse to go with you, for any price, and I don't plan on dying here either. So if you'll excuse me, I just need to—"

"Tsk, tsk! Where do you think you're going? Cross my path, girl, and you're mine." He slid to his left (Kagome's right) a few steps to better bar her path. "Forever," he added, that impish grin overtaking his face. God, how she hated his expressions!

Kagome merely rolled her eyes in response. "I think not. Move. Now. Please?" Their gazes locked and a staring contest ensued. Ichigaki won—he _did_ hold youkai blood, after all—but Kagome refused to back down.

Eventually, Kurama must have had enough of it. (Of course, he hadn't been delaying the moment for any reason other than the pure fascination in witnessing this human and her interaction with a demon—who, by rights, should have had her trembling by looks alone!) As Kagome conveniently distracted him with her obstinacy, he reached one perfect hand up. It passed between hair and neck, and when he brought it back into the air it held a single rose, which was deep in color: a bloody crimson. His fingers gingerly held it, always with that air of grace and quiet strength; this, Kagome noted with the use of her peripheral vision.

With a great crack, his rose whip had unfurled from the seemingly harmless garden friend, and just as quickly it wrapped around the doctor's neck. His throat, the jugular vein, had been slit by the thorns that still adorned the whip, and his life's blood poured through the wound. That was enough to kill the weakest of demons, the ones with hearts who didn't have the speed, strength, intelligence, or skill to properly defend themselves. Luckily, Ichigaki was among them, or this battle may have actually been just that—a battle.

Kagome turned to face him, wide-eyed at the display. Had he just slain the great doctor with a… a rose? The same type of rose he had given her the night before. No—hers had been deprived of thorns, while this one clearly wasn't. But he took them from the same area at the nape of his neck, and—

Now, hold on! She'd seen him use that whip once before! Yes, just last night, when he slew the Makai snake. Already, it seemed so long ago.

Apparently, Kagome's eyes had a mind of their own. They had been staring at him, leaving her to appear the stupid human who was unused to youkai. And that definitely couldn't be further from the truth.

He chuckled, closing the distance between them with what appeared to be a single step. When had he gotten so fast, too? She supposed it didn't matter.

"May I inquire as to the reason behind your shock?" The smile gracing his lips was light, as fair as his beautiful skin, yet as dark as the emeralds in his eyes.

Kagome's jaw practically snapped shut, though she did at least have the grace to smooth the action as to make it less noticeable. "Um, yes, er, I mean… No." A smile of her own was sent as an attachment to her words, though it felt shallow, even to her. "Now, if you'll excuse me…" She slipped aside before the heat she could feel rushing to her cheeks could materialize. (It would only add to her embarrassment.) By the time she had taken three short steps Shippo had found his hyperactive way to her shoulder once more.

* * *

Absently, Kagome's hand reached up to begin stroking the kitsune's fur, then she continued on her way to the other end of the ring. Her eyes were clouded, almost hazy. Kurama didn't fail to notice this, just as he never failed to notice anything. As he watched her walk away, he realized how very much he didn't want her to leave him. He desperately wanted her to remain by his side. Forever, if possible, though for now a temporary arrangement would do. 

He reached out one hand and lightly rested it on her shoulder. "Where might you be off to, Kagome?"

She stiffened slightly at the touch, then turned to face him, at ease once more. "To join my team," she said, appearing slightly confused. What had he done that was perplexing? Was it his touch? Was she as confused about her feelings for him as he was about his feelings for her?

A word began to form on her lips, but she let them drop. Why had she done that? Did she not realize how tempting they were, those lips of hers, and how dreadfully he wished to know her thoughts? That combination, moving lips and the words left unsaid, was deadly to his concentration. It would surprise him if he didn't lose his cool at least once in the coming match.

"Your team?" he questioned softly. He had to be sure Team Masho was really comprised of her companions at this tournament.

"Yes. We fight next."

_Of course,_ Kurama thought. _Just my luck to have my eye on an enemy._

"Surely, you aren't a competitor?" He let just enough concern slip through so that she alone would be able to sense it; he truly did care, after all, though he had no idea why.

Kagome laughed, and Kurama couldn't help but enjoy the way it sounded: like the wind as it rustled through autumn leaves, light and joyful. "Of course not! I watch fights, I don't participate in them."

Suspicious. Why, then, did she wield a katana? And quite well, he might add. But before he had a chance to say anything more, the judge's decision reached their ears via Koto.

"All _right_! Time to start the next match, everybody! I hope you're all as excited as I am, because I know I can't wait to see the fight Team Urimeshi can possibly put up in their condition!" Her ears twitched again. "Yes, but before all that, time for a check-up in the nurse's station. Team Urimeshi first. Come now, hurry up!" She tugged at one fox-ear impatiently.

Kurama sighed. "Enjoy the match, then. Farewell." He smiled softly, then withdrew his hand from her shoulder and made his silent way for the booth and the waiting nurse, despite the nagging feeling that something odd was going on.

* * *

**A/N: **Okay, so do we have some happy campers out there somewhere? By far, my longest chapter yet, I made it twice as long as usual for your enjoyment. It will make the story flow better as well, I think. Yes, I apologize for the long wait. So much stuff has been happening lately, good and bad, I just haven't had time (or ideas) until recently to work on the chapter! I hope you guys appreciate this. It will be a while before I update again; I'm warning you this time. School starts up again soon, and I've got assignments, a book to work on, endless hours of cleaning out my room… Enough of that. 

Please review! The button's down there somewhere, and it's looking a mighty bit lonely.

Constructive criticism is appreciated, or even flames. My entire purpose is to improve my writing, so I'd appreciate it if you guys would help out! (Much better this chapter, eh?)

Thanks in advance!


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